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DEEP SEA HUNTERS 
IN THE FROZEN SEAS 


By A. HYATT VERRILL 


THE RADIO DETECTIVES 

THE RADIO DETECTIVES UNDER 
THE SEA 

THE RADIO DETECTIVES 
SOUTHWARD BOUND 

THE RADIO DETECTIVES IN THE 
JUNGLE 

THE DEEP SEA HUNTERS 

THE DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN 
FROZEN SEAS 

THE BOOK OF THE MOTOR BOAT 
ISLES OF SPICE AND PALM 
THE REAL STORY OF THE WHALER 
THE REAL STORY OF THE PIRATE 

200 E 


% 














DEEP SEA HUNTERS 
IN THE FROZEN SEAS 


by 

A? HYATT VERRILL 




AUTHOR OF “THE DEEP SEA HUNTERS/* “THE 
RADIO DETECTIVES/’ “THE BOOK OF 
THE MOTOR BOAT,” ETC. 



•> * 
} ) i 


> 


> 


) 




D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 

NEW YORK : : 1923 ; : LONDON 





COPYRIGHT, 1923, BY 

D. APPLETON AND COMPANY 



PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OP AMERICA 

FEB -8 ’23 

©C1AG!)C20^ ' 



CONTENTS 


OHAPTEB PAGE 

I. The Narwhal.1 

II. The Boys Spring a Surprise.12 

III. On the Banks.27 

IV. A Close Shave. 43 

V. On the Iceberg. 56 

VI. The Battle.70 

VII. The Glacier.82 

VIII. Whales and Whales . 103 

IX. The Walrus Hunt.120 

X. Unavik Spins a Yarn.137 

XL The Boys Catch a Tartar.155 

XII. Frozen In. 171 

XIII. Unavik to the Rescue. 189 

XIV. An Arctic Christmas.204 

XV. Friends in Need.222 

XVI. Southward Ho!.249 

















DEEP SEA HUNTERS 
IN THE FROZEN SEAS 


CHAPTER I 

THE NARWHAL 

O LD Cap’n Pem was seated on the stringpiece 
of the wharf, his short black pipe gripped 
firmly in his mouth, and his wooden leg 
stretched stiffly before him like the stubby bowsprit 
of a coasting sloop. Beside him was his crony, Mike, 
another wooden-legged old mariner, for since a cruise 
the two had made to the Antarctic on the bark Hector, 
they had become inseparable companions.^ 

Although they were fast friends, they were ever 
chaffing each other and made it a point never to agree 
upon anything. 

As Mike said, “Phwhat’s the use av talkin’ if yez 
don’t be afther arguin’? Shure an’ if yez agrees 
there’s not a bit more to be said.” 

So, as usual, the two ancient mariners were in the 
1 See The Deep Sea Hunters. 


1 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


midst of a discussion regarding a weather-beaten, 
disreputable, unkempt craft which was being towed 
across New Bedford harbor by a fussy little tug. 

‘Xooks like they wuz a-comin’ to berth her here,’’ 
remarked Old Pern, “Reckon Dixon mus’ calc’late 
to fit the ol’ Narwhal out fer a cruise.” 

Mike snorted. “B’gorra thin ’twill be a cruise to 
Davy Jones she’ll be afther takin’!” he exclaimed. 
“Shure, ’tis I’ave o’ yer sinses ye’re takin’, ye ol’ wal¬ 
rus! ’Tis to junk the schooner they do be towin’ av 
her here.” 

“Walrus yerself!” retorted Cap’n Pern. “Ye’re 
a Irish lan’lubber if ye think the oT NarwhaVs only 
fit for junk. That there ol’ hooker’s a-goin’ for to 
fit out, I bet ye. An’, by heck! if she do. I’ll be 
blowed if I don’t ask Dixon to ship me erlong.” 

Mike guffawed. “Glory be!” he cried. “An’ do 
yez be afther thinkin’ as Dixon’ll be fittin’ out av a 
floatin’ horspittle, ye ol’ cripple?” 

Pern bristled. “Dern yer hide!” he roared. “If 
he was I’ll be sunk if he wouldn’t grab ye fust, ye 
peg-legged Harp. I’d-” 

Cap’n Pern’s sentence was interrupted by a shout 
and Jim Lathrop and Tom Chester, who had been 
with the old whalemen on the Hector in the Antarctic, 
came racing towards them. 

2 



THE NARWHAL 


“Hurrah!” cried Tom. “That tug’s coming in 
here with that old brig. Say, Cap’n Pern, what do 
you suppose they’re going to do with her?” 

“Bless ye, that ain’t no brig,” responded the old 
man. “That’s a torpsa’l schooner—the ol’ Narwhal. 
Ain’t seed her afloat fer years. Reckon Dixon’s 
goin’ fer to fit her out fer a cruise.” 

“Cruise!” cried Jim. “Gee, you don’t mean to 
say any one would be crazy enough to go to sea on 
her! Why, the old Hector was bad enough, but she 
was new compared to that tub, and was big enough 
to hoist this boat up to her davits.” 

Mike chuckled. “Glory be!” he exclaimed. 
“Even the b’ys is afther knowin’ ’tis no cruise she’ll 
be takin’. Shure, me laddies, Oi wuz just afther 
tellin’ Pern ’twas a-junkin’ av her they’ll be. But 
b’gorra, he’ll be havin’ av it his own way an’, phwat’s 
more, the ol’ id jit’s a-sayin’ as he’ll be afther a-tryin’ 
to ship along av her.” 

The boys laughed. “I thought you were never go¬ 
ing to sea again, Cap’n Pern,” cried Tom. “You said 
you were going to settle down ashore and buy a farm 
with your share of the Hector s catch.” 

“And you said only an old fool like Mr. Nye would 
ship a wooden-legged mate,” put in Jim. “Isn’t Mike 

going too to keep you company?” 

3 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Diwil a bit!” declared Mike positively. “ ’Tis 
solid land Oi do be afther wantin’ to feel ben’ath me 
two feet—an’ me havin’ but wan.” 

“Waall, I’ll bet ye she’s a-goin’ fer a cruise anny- 
ways,” rumbled Cap’n Pern, “an’ we’ll soon fin’ out.” 

Rising, the old whaleman stumped across the dock 
to where the ancient craft was being moored. At his 
heels followed the two boys and Mike. 

“Hey there, Ben!” shouted the old sailor to the 
captain of the tug. “What in tarnation ye bringin’ 
the Narwhal over here fer?” 

The tug’s skipper stuck his head from the pilot 
house, twirled the big wheel with one hand, and 
jerked the bell pull with the other. “Coin’ for a 
cruise,” he shouted back. “Heard Dixon’s aimin’ 
to send her to the Arctic.” 

Cap’n Pern turned triumphantly to Mike. “There 
ye be, ye ol’ derelic’,” he cried. “Didn’t I tell 
ye?” 

“Faith an’ yez did thot,” admitted Mike good-na¬ 
turedly. “An’ by the same token, ’tis goin’ along av 
her ye’ll be jus’ fer to be afther provin’ yez was right 
altogether.” 

“Well, I’m ready to believe anything now,” de¬ 
clared Tom. “You remember I thought you were 

fooling about the Hector when you said she was fitting 

4 


THE NARWHAL 


out, and I never dreamed we’d go on her. And she 
was a fine old ship! Gosh, do you remember the 
way she went through that blow in the south Atlantic, 
Jim?” 

“Do I!” replied Jim enthusiastically. “And say, 
I shouldn’t wonder if this old Narwhal’s just as 
staunch a ship too, after she’s fixed up.” 

“Bet ye she will be!” exclaimed Cap’n Pern. “I 
toF ye whale-ships wuz built to las’ forever, and this 
here Narwhal ain’t so drefful oF. Why, I can recol- 
lec’ when she wuz new. Le’s see, reckon I must ha’ 
been ’bout the size o’ ye, an’ she warn’t more’n twenty 
year oF then. Yep, I’ll bet she ain’t much older’n I 
be.” 

“B’gorra, an’ that’s a-plenty,” chuckled Mike. 
“An’ faith, ’tis a foine pair yez do be afther makin’! 
Shure yes. Pern, for the love o’ Hiwin be afther 
shippin’ on her—’tis comp’ny yez’ll be for wan 
another.” 

“And the captain of the tug said she was going to 
the Arctic!” cried Jim, paying no heed to Mike’s in¬ 
terruption. “Do you suppose they’re going after 
whales, Cap’n Pern?” 

“Dunno,” replied the whaleman. “Reckon they’re 
goin’ fer mos’ anythin’ what they gets. Seals, wal¬ 
rus, furs, ile an’ bone.” 

• 5 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Furs!” exclaimed Tom inquiringly. “What kind 
of furs do you mean?” 

“Different kinds,” replied Pern. “White b’ar, fox, 
musk ox, reindeer, anythin’ what the Eskimos bring 
in or the hands on the schooner kin shoot.” 

“Gosh, wouldn’t it be fun to go!” shouted Jim. 
“Say, Tom, I’m going to ask Dad if I can go. That 
is, if Cap’n Pern goes. Now we’ve been on the Hec¬ 
tor and everything came out so well I’ll bet he’ll let 
me.” 

“Me too!” declared Tom. “Say, that will be 
bully!” 

“ ’Tis daffy yez all do be afther gettin’!” declared 
Mike shaking his grizzled head sadly. “Furrst ’tis 
oT timber-lig here an’ thin ’tis yez b’ys—goin’ to look 
afther him Oi’m thinkin’, an’ .’tis meself’ll have to be 
afther goin’ along to be lookin’ afther the three of 
yez.” 

“Oh, you old fox!” cried Tom. “You know you’re 
just as crazy to go on another trip as any of us. 
You said yourself that voyage on the Hector made a 
man of you. And you’d never be happy ashore with¬ 
out Cap’n Pern.” 

“Shure, Oi dunno but phwat it’s the truth yez do be 
afther sp’akin’, Master Tom,” agreed the Irishman 
grinning. “But b’gorra ’tis wan thing to be talkin’ av 
goin’ an’ another to be aboarrd. Shure ’tis no 

6 


THE NARWHAL 


knowin’ as Misther Dixon’ll be afther takin’ anny av 
us, at all, at all.” 

“Well, we’re going to find out if we can go first— 
before we ask him,” said Jim. ‘‘And if we can, I’ll 
bet we can get Mr. Dixon to take you and Cap’n Pern. 
Mr. Nye and Captain Edwards can put in a good word 
for you, and besides, everybody in New Bedford 
knows you’re the two best whalemen here, and real 
whalemen are scarce nowadays.” 

“Well, ’tis havin’ av me doots Oi do be, as the 
Scotchman sez,” declared Mike. “Cruisin’ to the 
Ar’tic’s not a bit the same as cruisin’ south—phwat 
wid the oice an’ all.” 

“Fiddlesticks!” snorted Cap’n Pern. “What do ye 
know erbout it? Ye ain’t no whaleman. Bet ye he’ll 
be right glad fer to git us. ’Tain’t so all-fired easy 
to git navergators these times. An’ I’ve been in the 
ice—^why, dum it, wuzn’t I ice pilot fer the ol’ 
Petrel?’^ 

“Well, I hope he will take you—^both,” said Tom. 
“Our folks will be more likely to let us go if you two 
are along. When do you think the schooner’ll be 
ready to sail? And say, I never saw a schooner like 
her. She’s got yards on her foremast like a brigan¬ 
tine.” 

“Course she has,” replied Cap’n Pern. “Thet’s 

7 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


what makes her a torps’l schooner. Didn’t ye never 
seed one afore? But shucks, ’course ye didn’t. 
Ain’t many on ’em knockin’ erbout nowadays. Time 
wuz when they wuz thicker’n rats on a lime juicer. 
Yessir, an’ mighty handy craf’ in the ice, I tell ye. 
Thet’s why Dixon’s a-fittin’ o’ the Narwhal out I 
’spect. Ye see a or’nary fore-an’-aft schooner’s all 
right fer a-sailin’ on the wind, or when the win’s on 
the quarter or abeam, but she ain’t no use dead afore 
it, an’ ye can’t back her. An’ by glory! I’m a-tell- 
in’ ye that when ye’re a-handlin’ of a ship in the ice, 
with bergs fore-an’-aft an’ to po’t an’ sta’board, an’ 
jes leads in the floes, ye wants a ship what kin back 
an’ fill an’ make steerageway st’am fummust. Yes- 
sir, an’ the torps’l schooner’s the hooker what fills the 
bill. An’ as fer gettin’ ready, how can I tell? 
Reckon if there ain’t too pesky much to be did, she’ll 
be gettin’ away long ’bout the fust o’ June. Have ter 
fetch Hudson Straits by fust o’ August to git 
through safe an’ soun’.” 

“Hurrah! that makes it all the better,” cried Tom. 
“School will be pretty near over and we could miss 
a few days—at the last. There’s just a lot of gradua¬ 
tion exercises and such things. Come on, Jim, let’s 
go and see what our folks say.” 

But the boys’ parents frowned upon the scheme at 

8 


THE NARWHAL 


once. “That cruise in the Hector should be enough 
to last you boys for a lifetime,” declared Mr. Lath- 
rop. “And a cruise to the Arctic is a very different 
matter. The NarwhaVs a very old and small ship, 
and she’ll spend the winter there probably, freeze in 
and take chances of being crushed. And you’d find 
it far from a picnic. Why, just imagine being locked 
hard and fast in the ice for six or eight months with 
the temperature fifty or sixty below zero, and shut up 
in the ship with a crowd of greasy whalers and Es¬ 
kimos. No, Jim, there’s far too much risk.” 

“Oh, hang it all!” cried Jim bitterly. “You said 
there’d be danger on the Hector and everything was 
all right, and I’d love to be in the ice all winter and 
see Eskimos and hunt polar bears and walrus and 
everything. Say, if Cap’n Pern and Mike go, can’t 
I go too?” 

Mr. Lathrop shook his head decisively. “If the 
entire crew of the Hector went along, I’d not consent,” 
he declared. “But I’ll ask Tom’s father and see if 
he agrees with me.” 

Mr. Chester, however, was as much against the idea 
as Jim’s parent. “No, Tom,” he said, after Tom 
had explained matters. “It would mean a year from 
school at least, and while I realize the knowledge you 
boys would obtain would be of real value, still it’s 

9 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

too risky a trip. You’d be frozen in for six months 
or more, the ship might be stove—in which case you 
might be killed or might be marooned in the Arctic 
for months or years—or she might strike a berg or a 
floe and founder. Arctic whaling’s dangerous, and I 
don’t feel sure the Narwhal is seaworthy. Besides, I 
don’t know who Dixon is sending as ice pilot. It’s 
been years since a New Bedford whaler went to the 
Arctic and it takes men experienced in the ice to 
bring the ships through safely.” 

“But Cap’n Pern was an ice pilot—on the Petrely^ 
argued Tom. “And you have faith in him.” 

Mr. Chester laughed. “Yes, as far as looking 
after you boys to the best of his ability and being a 
good whaleman is concerned. But don’t for a mo¬ 
ment think that Dixon will ship him or Mike. In 
the Arctic they need able-bodied young men—^half 
the work is done ashore and there are long tramps 
over ice and snow. No, Tom, Cap’n Pern won’t go, 
that’s certain.” 

“You said that about the Hector,^* Tom reminded 
him. “And yet he went. Oh, Dad, if Cap’n Pern 
and Mike go, can’t I?” 

“I suppose you want me to make another bargain,” 
chuckled his father, “and make a condition that seems 
impossible but may be fulfilled. No, Tom, even if 

10 



THE NARWHAL 


Cap’n Pem went I would hesitate to consent. But 
I’ll tell you what. If the owners of the Narwhal in¬ 
vite you to go—remember you’re not to ask them— 
and if they guarantee that they’ll be personally re¬ 
sponsible for your safety, then I’ll consent.” 

‘‘Well that’s poor comfort!” exclaimed the disap¬ 
pointed boy. “Just as if the owners are going to in¬ 
vite us without even knowing we want to go, and as if 
they’d be responsible for us! Gee, they’d have to 
double their insurance, I guess.” 

“One’s as likely as the other, I admit,” laughed 
Mr. Chester. “But don’t be so disappointed, Tom. 
Maybe there’ll be a ship going to the West Indies or 
the Atlantic this summer that you can go on—some 
short cruise.” 

“Bother the West Indies!” cried Tom petulantly. 
“I want to go to the Arctic, and maybe Mr. Dixon 
may take Cap’n Edwards and maybe he or Cap’n Pem 
or some one may tell him we can navigate, and if he 
wants mates perhaps he will ask us.” 

“Well, if he does you can go—that is, of course, if 
Jim goes too,” smiled Tom’s father. “But remem¬ 
ber you’re neither to ask, nor hint about it. And I 
don’t think you’ll need to get out your winter things 
this June.” 


CHAPTER II 


THE BOYS SPRING A SURPRISE 


T he following day the two boys wandered to 
the wharf with disconsolate faces. 

“Reckon yer folks didn’t take to the idee, 
hey?” ventured Cap’n Pern, as he turned from watch¬ 
ing a gang of men working on the old Narwhal, 
“No, they wouldn’t listen to us,” replied Tom. 
“Not even if you and Mike went. Dad said if the 
owners invited us—and we didn’t ask—and that if 
you and Mike went too, he’d let us, but there’s a swell 
chance of that.” 

“H-m-m!” muttered the old whaleman. “Waall, 
I dunno as I’d be so everlastin’ly cut up about it. I 
don’t reckon ye’d have went annyhow without me, an’ 
there ain’t one chance in a million o’ that. Mike was 
up to see Dixon and the ol’ grampus jes laffed at 
him. Asked what he thought the Narwhal wuz—a 
floatin’ old sailors’ home?” 

“The mean old thing!” cried Jim. “Say, I’ll bet 

12 


THE BOYS SPRING A SURPRISE 

he won’t get a man that’s as good a sailor as you or 
Mike.” 

‘Ts he the owner?” asked Tom. 

“Wall, not perzactly,” replied the old man. “He’s 
the agent. The Narwhal’s owned by a comp’ny— 
an’ I reckon they ain’t none too conf’dent o’ the cruise 
a-bein’ so everlastin’ly profit’ble. Mike says he saw 
Cap’n Edwards an’ ol’ Nye, a-tryin’ fer to get ’em to 
put in a word fer us, an’ Nye says as how they’s a 
lot o’ shares—or stock or whatever ye calls it—^what 
ain’t been took up yit. He’s thinkin’ o’ buyin’ on it 
hisself if he kin git a good skipper like Edwards.” 

Tom let out a yell like an Indian, threw his hat in 
the air and danced. 

“Hurrah!” he fairly screamed. “We can go! 
I’ve a scheme! Oh, Jim! Oh, Cap’n Pern! It’s 
bully! Oh gosh, we’ll put one over on Dad again!” 

“Whatever be ye talkin’ on?” demanded the 
old whaleman. “ ’Pears like ye’ve gone plumb 
crazy.” 

“Listen!” cried Tom, as he quieted down. And in 
earnest tones he explained his scheme to old Pern 
and to Jim. 

“Gee!” commented Jim, “that will work. Tom, 
you’re a wonder.” 

“Demed if ’twont,” agreed the old whaleman. 

13 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“I’ll be swabbed if I don’ reckon we’ll all be a-goin’ 
erlong o’ the Narwhal arter all.” 

A few moments later the boys were speeding to- 
wai;ds New Bedford on a trolley car. Alighting 
near the water front they hurried to Mr. Nye’s office. 

There was a long conference with the genial ship¬ 
owner. Then another visit, with Mr. Nye accom¬ 
panying them, to a broker’s and to a law office. Sev¬ 
eral hours later two grinning, jubilant boys made 
their way back to Fair Haven and entered Mr. Ches¬ 
ter’s home. 

“Well, Dad, they’ve invited us!” exclaimed Tom, 
as his father turned at their entrance. 

“What?” cried Mr. Chester incredulously. “You 
mean to say the NarwhaVs owners have asked you to 
go on a cruise—without your mentioning it to them?” 

Tom grinned and Jim chuckled. “They sure 
did,” declared Tom. “And they’re going to take 
Cap’n Pern and Cap’n Edwards and Mike—and Ned 
if they can find him—and all the others that were on 
the Hector that can be hired.” 

“But how—how on earth did they know you wanted 
to go?” demanded Tom’s father, “and why are they 
going to take that crew of cripples? There’s a 
mystery here, boys; what is it?” 

The two boys were thoroughly enjoying themselves. 

14 




THE BOYS SPRING A SURPRISE 


‘^And that’s not all, Dad,” went on Tom. “The 
owners said that if Jim and I couldn’t go, the Nar¬ 
whal^s cruise would be given up—they wouldn’t even 
fit her out.” 

“What is all this nonsense?” exclaimed Mr. Ches¬ 
ter. “The owners must be crazy—talking about giv¬ 
ing up a cruise if you two kids don’t go along! Who 
are the owners of the old ship anyway?” 

“Well, you see it’s a company,” explained Tom, 
scarcely able to control himself, “and the members 
who own the most shares are managing owners and 
have the say about everything.” 

“Yes, yes, I understand all that,” interrupted Mr. 
Chester impatiently, “but who are the managing 
owners?” 

Jim could contain himself no longer. “We are!” 
he shouted. “Tom and I!” 

Mr. Chester was speechless. “What?” he gasped 
presently. “You two boys are the ship’s owners?” 

“I’ll say we are!” cried Tom. “We took the 
money we got for our lays of the ambergris and 
bought up the controlling shares to-day. Mr. Nye 
said it was a good investment. And so we invited 
ourselves, and we won’t let the Narwhal sail unless 
we go, and we’re going to hire all the old Hector’s 
crew.” 


15 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Well ru be-” began Mr. Chester, and then, 

a smile broadening on his face, he turned to the tele¬ 
phone. 

“Hello!” he exclaimed presently. “That you, 
Lathrop? Well, the boys have put one over on us 
two old fogies again! Yes, owners invited them all 
right. Say the ship won’t sail without them too. 
Yes. Guess we’ll have to let them go. Oh, Ed¬ 
wards. Yes, both Mike and Pern. Oh, yes, I forgot 
—Tom and Jim bought up the controlling interest— 
managing owners themselves. Ha, ha! Yes, tliey’ve 
won out!” 

“Then we can go!” cried Tom, as his father hung 
up the receiver. 

“I always stick to a bargain,” replied Mr. Chester, 
“and Jim’s father says he does too. So you might as 
well hire your crew and get the old Narwhal fitted 
out.” 

Cap’n Pern and Mike were as tickled as two chil¬ 
dren over the boys’ ruse and its success. Both the 
old sailors having been engaged, they set to work, 
Cap’n Pern looking after the details of recondition¬ 
ing the schooner, while Mike haunted New Bedford’s 
water frant and lodging houses, searching out the 
former crew of the Hector, 

The next few weeks were very busy ones for the 

16 



THE BOYS SPRING A SURPRISE 


two boys, who had invested their little fortune in the 
Narwhal, and now found themselves the principal 
owners of a real whaling vessel. The details of the 
business, as well as the financial arrangements, re¬ 
pairs, and outfitting were turned over to Mr. Dixon 
and to Mr. Nye, for the latter had bought considerable 
stock in the Narwhal also. And work proceeded rap¬ 
idly aboard the ship. 

There seemed to be an endless number of things to 
be done. The old ship’s timbers were in good shape 
and little of her planking had to be replaced, but 
she had to be caulked and pitched and painted and 
ice sheathing was put on. Her spars were worth¬ 
less and her rigging had to be entirely stripped from 
her, and new rigging rove. Much of her decks were 
also badly rotted and, as Tom said, when on one oc¬ 
casion he looked ruefully at the almost empty hulk, 
minus masts and rigging, “By the time they get 
through she’ll be a new ship.” 

But old Cap’n Pern did not agree with him. 
“Hanged if she will!” he exclaimed, “why. Lor’ 
love ye, ’tain’t a ship’s spars an’ riggin’ what makes 
the ship. It’s the timbers an’ hull. Bless my soul! 
If ev’ry time a ship got dismasted an’ had ter have 
a new set ’o spars, it made a new ship of her, thar 
wouldn’t be nary an ol’ ship lef’. Shucks! Ye 

17 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


wouldn’t say yer Dad built a new house jes ’cause 
he put a new chimbly or a new verandy on it, would 
ye?” 

Tom lauded. “No,” he admitted, “hut if 
Dad took out all the inside of the house, and then took 
off the boards and just left the old cellar. I’d call it 
pretty near a new house, and that’s what we’re doing 
with the Narwhal’’ 

“Not by a long shot!” burst out the old whaleman, 
to whom an old hull was almost sacred. “Ye’d find 
a purty diff’runce in what ye’d have to pay if ye wuz 
to build a new schooner ’stead o’ refittin’ this here 
hooker.” 

Then, when at last the hull and decks were done 
and it came to rigging, dissension arose as to how 
the Narwhal should be rigged. Mr. Dixon, who was 
of the new school, wanted a three-masted schooner 
and some of the other owners, a two-master, while 
one old fellow insisted a bark was the only rig. But 
the boys stoutly insisted that their ship, as they called 
her, must be rigged as she was originally and they 
were sustained by Mr. Nye, while old Cap’n Pern 
vowed he’d not take the place as ice pilot unless she 
, was a square topsail schooner. 

“If you take my advice,” said Mr. Chester, when 
on one occasion he was discussing the matter with the 

18 


THE BOYS SPRING A SURPRISE 


boys and Mr. Nye, “you’ll put a motor in her. I 
suppose it will be little less than heresy to suggest it 
to the whalemen, but a motor will be a godsend in 
the ice.” 

“You’re right,” assented Mr. Nye. “Whale-ships 
have had auxiliary power before now and the Nar¬ 
whal can stand a motor. Yes, I think there’s no 
question that a motor will prove a most valuable as¬ 
set. Why, even in towage it’ll save its own cost.” 

But when Cap’n Pern heard of this he almost ex¬ 
ploded. “Consam sech rattletrap contraptions!” he 
exclaimed. “Ain’t sails an’ the win’ God gave us 
good enough fer to take this here ship where we aim 
fer to go? Motor! By cricky! do ye want fer to 
make a ottymobil out o’ the ol’ Narwhal . ” 

“Sbure thin’ an’ ’twill be a shofure yez’ll be afther 
wantin’,” put in Mike. “An’ b’ the same token, ’tis 
a foine motomeer Oi am meself. B’gorra ’tis a 
shame to be a-tumin’ o’ the ould schooner into a 
po\^er boat, but handy ’twill be Oi do be thinkin’ 
manny the toime.” 

But despite Pern’s protests and contempt and sar¬ 
castic remarks, the motor was installed and Mike, 
who really had had experience in handling motors in 
the navy, was rated as engineer. 

In regard to the rigging, Cap’n Pem and the boys 

19 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


had their way. Captain Edwards had agreed with 
the old whaleman that a topsail schooner was the 
handiest vessel to navigate in the ice; also he had 

I 

pointed out that, having been originally rigged as 
such, it was cheaper and easier to re-rig the Narwhal 
in the same way. 

So the tall and tapering spars were set up, the long 
and beautifully proportioned cross yards for the fore¬ 
mast were slung, the standing rigging was bowsed 
taut, served, and tarred; the huge blocks and the maze 
of halyards, lifts, braces, sheets, lines and ropes were 
rigged, and, resplendent in a coat of new paint, the 
rejuvenated Narwhal’s motor was started and she 
chugged slowly across the harbor to the New Bedford 
dock. 

“Now what do you think of her?” asked Tom of 
old Mike as the staunch, trim schooner was warped 
alongside the dock, and her lofty, golden-tinted spars 
loomed high above the water-front buildings. 

“Waall, b’gorra, ’tis not the same ship at all, at 
all,” declared the Irishman. “Shure ’tis loike the 
sailor’s knoife she do be—the same ould knoife, 
barrin’ new blades an’ a new handle.” 

“Gid out!” cried old Pern. “By heck, if ye got 
a new timber leg I ’spec’ ye’d be a dod gasted new 
man, eh?” 


20 



THE BOYS SPRING A SURPRISE 


‘‘No!” responded the Irishman. “But shure an’ if 
Oi foun’ me a foine new hidpiece an’ a new body 
an’ a new pair o’ ban’s, the wooden lig o’ me remain¬ 
in’ would niver be afther makin’ ould Moike out o’ 
the broth of a b’y Oi’d be.” 

“Well, I don’t care what you say, it’s the same old 
Narwhal’^ insisted Tom, “just as much as the Hector 
was the same old Hector^ 

“Yis, yis, so she do be,” agreed Mike. “An’ 
’tis a foine cruise we’ll be takin’ in her—an’ foine 
luck we’ll be havin’ Oi’m thinkin’—phwat wid the 
same ould crew o’ the Hector. An’ thanks be to 
Hivvin there’ll be no bo’sun burrds for to be a-perch- 
in’ on the yarrds an’ a-scarin’ the loife out of us 
all.” 

Even when the ship was reconditioned there was 
much to be done. The boys had thought that the old 
Hector had carried vast quantities of stores, but when 
they saw the mountain of barrels, shooks, boxes, 
cases and casks that were piled on the wharf, and 
the steady stream of trucks and drays that kept add¬ 
ing their loads to the accumulation, they declared that 
the Narwhal would sink at the wharf if all the sup¬ 
plies were stowed aboard her. 

“Don’t ye fergit we’re a-goin’ for a long v’yage,” 
Cap’n Pern reminded them. “Lord knows when the 

21 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


ol’ NarwhaVM be a-pokin’ of her jib boom pas’ New 
Bedford light ag’in. An’ there ain’t no delic’tessen 
’roun’ the comer in the Ar’tic, by gum!” 

“But what do they want all that salt for?” 
asked Jim, who had been watching barrel after 
barrel of coarse Turks’ Island salt being slung 
aboard. 

“Curin’ skins,” replied the old whaleman. “ ’Spect 
we’ll be a-gittin’ a purty good cargo o’ seals. Ain’t 
been hunted much fer a spell an’ pelts is purty high. 
Yessir, better’n ile now’days.” 

“And what do we need lumber for?” queried Tom. 
“Any one would think we were going to build a house 
up there.” 

“So we be,” declared Pern. “Come winter an’ 
she freezes in, we’ll be a-makin’ on her shipshape an’ 
comfy for six months o’ everlastin’ night. House the 
oT hooker in—didn’t ’spec’ ye could spen’ the winter 
in that there mite of a cabin an’ the fo’c’s’le, did 
ye?” 

“Well, I see we’ve a lot to learn yet,” laughed 
Tom. “What about guns and things for shooting the 
seals and bears?” 

Cap’n Pern guffawed. “Lor’ love ye!” he ex¬ 
claimed. “They don’t scarcely never shoot seals— 
jes knock ’em over the head same as we did them 

22 


THE BOYS SPRING A SURPRISE 


there sea el’phunts. But they’ll be guns aboard fer 
huntin’ musk ox an’ reindeer an’ b’ars, an’ a lot o’ 
ol’ muskets fer to trade to the Eskimos.” 

“Well, we’re taking our own rifles,” said Jim, 
“but I don’t see any heavy clothes or overcoats in 
the stores.” 

“Ain’t none,” declared the old whaleman. “Plenty 
o’ warm woolens an’ mitts an’ sea boots an’ sou’- 
westers though. Don’ never take no overcoats along. 
Jes git fur clothes from the Eskimos. They’re a 
heap sight warmer an’ cheaper.” 

So, with the boys constantly plying the old sailor 
with questions, and daily learning more and more 
about the outfitting and the coming cruise, the work 
of loading and storing the pile of supplies went on, 
until at last, to the boys’ amazement, the stevedores 
and sailors managed to find a place for every¬ 
thing. 

Finally the final package was aboard.. The Nar- 
whaVs deck was littered, the cabin was choked with 
boxes, half the galley was filled with coal, and even 
the spare boats were filled with stores. Still the 
Narwhal showed plenty of freeboard and rode buoy¬ 
antly on the water. 

Then came trucks carrying huge rolls of new white 
canvas, a crowd of men swarmed up the rigging and 

23 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


over the yards, the great sails were bent on and 
stretched. The Narwhal was ready to start on her 
long cruise to the frozen north. 

It only remained to get the crew together, and 
when the two boys finally stepped bn to the schooner’s 
decks on the day of leaving, they felt as if they were 
once more aboard the old Hector. There was Cap’n 
Edwards, with his merry blue eyes, white hair and 
leatherlike face. Cap’ Pern stumped back and forth 
with a frown on his face and his old cap at a rakish 
angle on his grizzled head. Mike was bawling orders 
and punctuating quaint commands with his Irish 
wit, and Mr. Kemp, longer and lankier than ever, 
grinned at the boys with his mouth twisted by the 
ghastly scar received when his ship was sunk by a 
German U-boat. From the galley door, the ebony¬ 
faced cook bobbed his woolly head in greeting, and, 
with a mallet in one hand and wooden wedges in the 
other, the dried-up, chin-whiskered Irish carpenter 
was busy battening down hatches with the help of 
big, raw-boned Ole Swanson, the cooper. Even one- 
eyed Ned and deaf-and-dumb Pete were there, and 

so the only faces the boys missed from the Hectares 

/ 

crew were those of the pop-eyed boy and the big 
gorilla-like black sailor. 

“Why, you got all the old men back!” cried Tom 

24 


THE BOYS SPRING A SURPRISE 


delightedly, as he recognized one after the other, 
“Even Pete!” 

Cap’n Pern grinned. “Yep,” he replied, “that 
there old fool Mike jes’ nat’rally did like ye told of 
him. But, arter all, they ain’t sech an all-fired bad 
lot o’ han’s, an’ they knows me and the skipper an’ 
Mr. Kemp, an’ ol’ shipmates is ol’ shipmates—spite 
o’ their bein’ mos’ly derelic’s. An’ I reckon Pete’ll 
be a sort o’ mascot—Eskimos is so dumb they allers 
thinks dummies is big med’cine an’ is supe’stitious 
’bout ’em. ’Sides, we had sech everlastin’ luck las’ 
v’yage, mebbe we’ll be lucky ’long o’ this, seein’s 
we’ve got the hull crowd ag’in.” 

As Cap’n Pern was speaking, the hawsers had been 
cast off, Mike had started the motor and the screw 
churned the water. The crowd gathered on the dock, 
shouted farewells and good lucks and the boys sprang 
to the taffrail, and waved and yelled good-by to their 
parents. The Narwhal, gay with bunting, her big 
sails hanging loosely in the buntlines and brails, 
slipped into the stream, swung slowly about, and 
under her own power was headed towards the harbor 
mouth. 

Once more to the boys’ ears came the rousing 
chantey as the men piled aloft, scrambled out on 
yards, and manned the halyards and hoists. 

25 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


The ship she’s a-sailing out over the bar, 

Away Rio! Away Rio! 

The ship she’s a-sailing out over the bar. 

We’re bound for the Rio Grande! 

Thus sang the men as the sails rose slowly, with 
many a rattle and purl of blocks, and the Narwhal’s 
white wings gleamed in the bright June sunshine. 
The boys thrilled with pride and delight as they 
glanced aloft at the tapering spars and taut rigging 
and at the sheen of sails. As they felt the gentle 
motion of the deck, Tom and Jim realized that they 
were once more starting forth on adventures—and 
this time in their own ship. 


CHAPTER III 


ON THE BANKS 

O NCE past the lighthouse, and with a fair 
wind, the NarwhaVs motor was stopped, 
sheets and braces were trimmed, and, heel¬ 
ing gently to her immense square foretop and fore¬ 
topgallant sails and the vast expanse of her fore 
and mainsails the schooner plunged eastward. 

“Golly, isn’t she a fine old ship!” cried Tom, as he 
stepped to the lee rail and watched the hissing froth 
speed past. “Why, she’s going like a yacht and 
there’s not much wind either!” 

“Used to was the fastest hooker ’round the 
Cape,” rumbled Cap’n Pern. 

“And spreads enough canvas to drive a clipper 
ship,” added Captain Edwards, glancing at the strain¬ 
ing spars and rigging. “Pern, you’ll have to keep 
a weather eye liftin’ an’ be ready to shorten sail at 
the first sign of a blow.” 

“Yes, sir,” agreed the other, “that there’s the 
wust o’ these here torpsa’l schooners—too demed 

27 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


much canvas aloft. It’ll drive ’em like blazes in a 
light win’, but keeps the crew everlastin’ly on the 
jump a-reefin’ and short’nin’ sail. Reckon soon’s 
ever we get no’thard o’ the Banks, we’d be a leedle 
mite snugger if we housed that there to’gallant 
sail.” 

I 

“Yes, better do that,” agreed the skipper, “we 
won’t need it in the ice.” 

Now that the hoys had a chance to look about, 
they noticed for the first time that there were no 
swarthy-faced Portuguese among the crew. 

“Never take ’em to the Arctic,” Mr. Kemp told 
them in reply to their question. “Ain’t no good there 
—^just shiver and freeze like a lot of frozen turnips.” 

“Is it really as cold as that?” asked Jim. 

“Cold!” exclaimed the lanky second officer. 
“Cold! Well, let me tell you a fellow doesn’t know 
what cold is ’til he’s spent a winter froze in up 
’round the North Pole.” 

“Have you ever been there?” asked Tom. 

Mr. Kemp looked at Tom in surprise. 
course,” he declared. “Wish I had as many dol¬ 
lars as I’ve put in days in the ice.” 

“And did you ever shoot white bears, and wal¬ 
rus, and musk oxen, and see Eskimos?” cried Jim. 

“Did I?” grinned the officer. “Didn’t do much 

28 


' ON THE BANKS 


f- 

f 

r 

I- 


else durin’ the winter ’cept have shenannigans with 
the Eskimos aboard.” 

“Do they talk English?” asked Tom. “Or do you 
have to know how to speak Eskimo?” 

“Well, some of ’em talk what they call English,” 
said Mr. Kemp. “Those are the fellows that’s been 
whalin’ long of Yankee and Scotch ships, hut the 
most of ’em just palaver in their own lingo—and I 
can talk that. I was brung up with a Eskimo kid, 
and learnt it from him.” 

“Why, how was that?” asked Jim, “I thought 
you came from right here on Cape Cod.” 

“Nope, Noank, back in Connecticut,” said the 
other. “And there was a Eskimo there—Eskimo Joe 
they called him—what had a kid ’bout my age. 
We went to school together and was reg’lar 
chums.” 

“I didn’t know there were any Eskimos in Con¬ 
necticut,” exclaimed Tom. “I thought they always 
died when they came down here.” 

“Joe didn’t,” the other assured him. “And say, 
he could have told you a bully good yarn. I don’t 
know as I can spin the whole of it for you, but he 
an’ his squaw come down on a cake of ice. That 
is, they come most o’ the way.” 

“Oh, tell us about it!” cried Tom. “How did 


29 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


he happen to be on a cake of ice and how could he 
come down on it?” 

“Well, there don’t seem to be much to do right 
now, so I expect I can spare a couple o’ minutes to 
tell you,” agreed Mr. Kemp. “Especially,” he 
added with a grin, “as long as the owners is tellin’ 
me to.” , 

“You see,” he began, seating himself on a coil of 
rope and lighting his pipe, “Eskimo Joe was one o’ 
the hunters an’ pilots on the old Polaris —a ship what 
was up huntin’ for the North Pole long afore my 
time—back in IRTl ’twas. Well, the Polaris got 
froze in hard an’ fast, and the crew, thinkin’ she 
might get stove, put most of the stuff on the ice and 
was gettin’ ready for a bust up. But it come afore 
they expected of it. Ice broke up and left some of 
the folks on the ice ’longside the ship and the rest 
of ’em on a big piece of floe adrift in the water. 
Eskimo Joe was with that crowd along with his squaw 
and Captain Tyson of the Polaris and a bunch o’ 
men—twenty there was all told—and nary a mite 
of food. 

“Just as soon as the ice got adrift it commenced 
to travel in a current, and there they was, driftin’ 
about on an ice island that might go to bits or cap¬ 
size any minute. Times was when they pretty near 

30 



ON THE BANKS 


starved, but they caught gulls and murres and auks 
and other birds, and Joe fixed up a fishin’ tackle 
and got fish now and then. Sometimes, too, a seal 
would come aboard the cake and Joe’d get him; 
and once a white bear dumb on to the ice and Joe 
nailed him, too. I don’t guess bear’s any too good 
meat, but it sure was welcome to those folks. Well, 
to make a long story short, they was driftin’ on that 
ice cake for six months, yes, sir and the cake gettin’ 
smaller all the time as it drifted along south. Then, 
along in April ’72 a sealin’ ship—steamer. Tigress, 
o’ St. John’s, Newfoundland ’twas—hove in sight 
and picked ’em up, and every man jack o’ the twenty- 
one safe and hearty.” 

“Why, I thought you said there were only twenty!” 
exclaimed Tom. 

Mr. Kemp grinned. “So I did and so there was,” 
he declared, “when they went adrift. But you see, 
while they was navigatin’ ’round on their ice island, 
Joe’s squaw had a baby an’ that was the kid I used 
to be chums with.” 

“Gee, I hope we don’t get adrift like that!” ex¬ 
claimed Jim. “But it must have been some adven¬ 
ture!” 

“Well, you can’t never tell,” remarked Mr. Kemp 

as he rose and hurried off. “But I guess after bein’ 

31 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


sunk by a sub, driftin’ on a ice floe wouldn’t be so 
bad as it might be.” 

The Elizabeth Islands were now close ahead, and 
the Narwhal was soon passing through the narrow 
channel between Naushon and Woods Hole and, to 
the south, Martha’s Vineyard was in plain sight. 
With every stitch of canvas set, the schooner sped on 
across Nantucket Sound towards distant Monomoy 
Light. 

It was a perfect June day, warm and bright, and 
with a steady northwest wind on the Narwhal’s quar¬ 
ter. Captain Edwards declared that if the breeze 
held throughout the day and night, they would pass 
George’s Banks before noon the following day. Be¬ 
fore dark, long, low Monomoy Point was sighted and 
with the last of the land astern, Cap’n Pern roared 
out orders and the willing crew raced to sheets and 
braces. 

Oh, whisky is the life of man, 

Whisky! Johnny! 

It always was since time began, 

Oh, whisky for my Johnny! 

Lustily the men roared out the old chantey as 
the fore and mainsail sheets were hauled in, and the 

big foretopsail yard swung to the heave of the braces. 

32 


ON THE BANKS 


Then, as the Narwhal turned towards the north and 
the freshening wind abeam buried her lee rails under 
the tumbling suds-like froth, the crew swarmed aloft. 
Presently the foretopgallant sail was thrashing and 
snapping like a battery of rapid-fire guns, as the 
men furled the canvas to the rousing chantey: 

Around Cape Horn, where wild gales blow. 

To me way-hay, hay-yah! 

Around Cape Horn through sleet and snow, 

A long time ago-! 

The schooner headed across the broad Atlantic, 
and darkness fell upon the sea. Monomoy Light was 
but a tiny twinkling star astern, and the boys felt 
their cruise had really begun. 

The next morning was fair but almost calm. As 
the boys came on deck, they were surprised to see a 
score and more of trim schooners riding easily on 
the long ocean swell under light canvas. 

“It must be a yacht club!” exclaimed Tom, “hut 
I didn’t know they came so far to sea.” 

“Fishing fleet from Gloucester,” said Captain Ed¬ 
wards, who heard Tom’s remark. “We’re passing 
George’s Banks. Don’t you see the dories yonder?” 

“Oh yes, I do now,” declared Tom. “But why do 
they call it a Bank? I don’t see any land.” 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Waall, I swan!” cried Cap’n Pem. “To think o’ 
ye young scallawags a-bein’ navigators an’ owners o’ 
a torps’l schooner, and a-havin’ v’y’ged to the Sou’ 
Shetland’s, an’ not a-knowin’ on a fishin’ smack when 
ye sees ’em, nor a-knowin’ nothin’ ’bout the Banks. 
Lor’ love ye, there beint no Ian’ here ’bouts ’ceptin’ 
straight down. Ye see the Banks is ’bout a hundred 
fathom deep, an’ that’s plumb shaller fer mid-ocean, 
so they calls on ’em Banks. Ain’t no ’cause to be 
skeert o’ runnin’ the oT Narwhal agroun’l” 

“Well, I suppose we are awfully green,” laughed 
Tom, “but they never told us that in school when 
we learned about the ocean and the coast in physi¬ 
cal geography, and I thought fishing schooners were 
dirty old boats.” 

“Finest little ships afloat,” declared the skipper. 
“And just as fast as they can be built. Have to be 
to get the catch to market—price depends on the 
first to make port. Look there! There goes one of 
’em now. She’s got a full catch an’s heatin’ it for 
Boston.” 

As he spoke, he pointed to one of the schooners 
that had run a flag to her maintopmast head. As 
the boys looked, the schooner blossomed into a per¬ 
fect cloud of snowy canvas. 

“Gosh, look at her go!” cried Jim delightedly, as 

34 


ON THE BANKS 


the trim black schooner heeled towards them until 
they could see the full sweep of her deck. With a 
mountain of foam about her bows, she fairly raced 
through the oily sea. 

‘‘And hardly enough wind to fill our sails,” added 
Tom. ‘‘Say, I wish the Narwhal could go like 
that!” 

“And there goes another and another!” cried Jim. 
“Golly, it’s like a race.” 

“So ’tis a race,” chuckled the captain. “With 
thousands of dollars to the winner.” 

“Jiminy, I’d like to sail on those boats,” declared 
Tom as the schooners swept by with a hiss and roar. 
“It must be exciting.” 

“Pesky hard work if ye asks me,” declared Cap’n 
Pern. “An’ no fun, come winter, I tell ye. By 
gum. I’d ruther be froze up in the Ar’tic.” 

“And plenty of danger too,” added the skipper. 
“Hardly a week passes that fishermen are not lost 
on the Banks—though it’s on the Grand Banks more 
than here.” 

“I don’t see what’s dangerous about it,” said Tom 
as they turned to go to breakfast. “Just coming 
out here in a fine schooner and fishing.” 

“There’s not—on a day like this.*” agreed Captain 
Edwards, “but in fog, the schooners or dories are 

35 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


often run down by steamers; the dories get parted 
from their ships and are lost, and in winter storms 
they are often swamped or driven to sea by gales. 
I tell you, boys, if you want to read exciting sto¬ 
ries of heroism and hardship, just get the Gloucester 
papers and read ’em. Why, it’s worse than whalin’ 
—almost.” 

By the time breakfast was over, the fishing fleet 
was a mere group of flashing white specks astern, 
and the boats which had raced to port were out of 
sight. 

Presently Cap’n Pern called Mr. Kemp and sug¬ 
gested that it was a good day to break in the green 
hands. For several hours the boys were amused 
by watching the frightened men, who had never be¬ 
fore been to sea, as they were compelled to go aloft. 
It was a familiar sight to them for they had seen it 
day after day on the Hector but they could not help 
being sorry for the fellows, as the two whalemen 
forced the men into the rigging. 

There was no actual brutality—although, judging 
from the words and looks of Cap’n Pern and the 
second mate, the men might well have thought they 
were ready to do murder if they were not obeyed. 
After a bit, the green hands were allowed to come 
down, the big yards were swung, the schooner was 

36 


ON THE BANKS 


hove to, and for several hours the “greenies” were 
put through a grilling boat practice. This they thor¬ 
oughly enjoyed, and they chaffed and jollied one an¬ 
other whenever they caught a crab with the huge 
ash oars, or made some similar breaks that brought 
down a fiery string of comments from the officers. 
But there was not a great deal of this drilling and 
breaking in, for the NarwhaVs crew was small and 
only a very few of the men were raw hands, the 
captain explaining that the bulk of the work on the 
“grounds” would be done by the Eskimos who 
could be taken aboard at Labrador or Green¬ 
land. 

“Gee, it sounds funny to be talking about going 
to Greenland!” laughed Tom. “I can’t really be¬ 
lieve it yet. How long should it take us to get there. 
Captain Edwards?” 

“Impossible to say,” replied the skipper. “De¬ 
pends on wind and fog and how much ice we find 
when we get to the Straits.” 

“Oh, there—there she blows!” shouted Jim. “Off 
the port bow!” 

Instantly all eyes were turned in the direction 
Jim indicated, and Mr. Kemp raced up the rigging. 
The next moment a dozen little fountains of spray 
rose above the green surface of the sea, and a num- 

37 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

her of the huge black bodies rolled sluggishly into 
view. 

“Blackfish!” shouted Mr. Kemp. 

‘‘So they be!” echoed Cap’n Pern. “Don’t ye 
youngsters know whales yit?” 

“Aren’t they whales?” demanded Tom. “They 
look like ’em to me.” 

“No, blackfish-grampus,” declared the skipper. 
“But after all, they are a kind of whale.” Then, 
after a moment, he exclaimed. “Pern, let’s lower 
away and go after ’em. Good practice for the men, 
an’ blackfish ile’s worth takin’. There ain’t no wind 
an’ we won’t lose ’nough time to count.” 

“Stan’ by to lower away the sta’board boats,” 
roared the old whaleman. 

Then, as the yards were swung and the schooner 
came to a standstill, the boats were lowered, the men 
tumbled in, and to the pull of the six long ash oars 
in each, they went racing towards the school of black- 
fish. 

To the boys’ delight, they were allowed to go after 
the grampus, for they had always longed to go in one 
of the boats as it dashed across the waves after a 
whale. To be sure “going on” the blackfish was not 
the same as attacking a monster cetacean. But it 
was the nearest thing to it, and both Tom and Jim 

38 


ON THE BANKS 


thrilled with excitement as the ash oars bent to the 
brawny muscles of the men, and the keen-stemmed 
boat fairly leaped through the water. 

Cap’n Pern was as excited as if he were after a 
real whale. Standing at the huge steering oar, with 
his hair flying, he shouted to the straining crew. 

“Lift her, lads!” he cried. “Get in on the pesky 
critters! Don’t let that there swab o’ a secon’ mate 
git fust! Git arter ’em, ye lubbers!” 

Forward the harpoonier or boat-steerer laid aside 
his oar and unsheathed a keen-pointed harpoon or 
“iron,” a lighter weapon than the one the boys had 
seen used for sperm whales. Bracing his knee in 
the clumsy cleat, he stood ready to strike the black- 
fish that were now but a few hundred feet dis¬ 
tant. 

Close behind came Mr. Kemp’s boat, his crew 
striving their utmost to reach the grampus in time to 
make a strike before the fish were frightened. Al¬ 
most side by side the two boats swept upon the unsus¬ 
pecting creatures. 

Nearer and nearer the boat crept. The boat 
steerer raised his weapon, braced himself, every 
muscle taut, and was on the point of heaving the 
iron at a huge grampus a few yards ahead when 

Tom let out a terrified yell. 

39 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Within a few feet of the boat a huge, triangular 
fin had cut through the water and the next instant 
an immense body hurled itself into the air and, with 
a sweep of its stupendous tail, struck the water with 
a blow like a bursting shell, drenching the occu¬ 
pants of the boat. 

‘‘Thrasher!” shouted Cap’n Pern. 

The harpoonier picked himself up from where he 
had stumbled, as the deluge of water almost drowned 
him. He poised his iron and glanced about. Not 
a grampus was in sight. 

“Dem his everlastin’ hide!” yelled Cap’n Pern. 
“Look out! There, he’s a-comin’! Strike him, 
Nat!” 

As the old whaleman spoke, the big fin again ripped 
through the sea and with a grunt the boat-steerer 
heaved his long weapon. The next second the water 
was lashed into foam, the heavy manilla whale line 
was rushing through the chocks like a streak of light, 
and the heavy boat was tearing through the sea at 
express-train speed. 

“Fast!” screamed Cap’n Pern, as he tugged and 
strained at his big oar. 

Then, “Breachin’!” he cried, as once more the 
immense creature flung itself clear of the water. 
The boys, dazed, frightened, and gasping, saw that 

40 


ON THE BANKS 


it was a gigantic shark with an enormously long tail. 

Hardly had the thrasher struck the water again 
when the line ran out a few feet. Suddenly it grew 
slack and the boat came to a standstill. 

“Drew!” exclaimed Cap’n Pern. “Consam it, 
reckon we might’s well go back. Nary mite o’ use 
a-tryin’ fer them blackfish now.” 

Crestfallen, the men took to the oars and started 
to pull back to the ship. 

“What is a thrasher?” asked Tom, now that the 
excitement was over. 

“Kind o’ shark,” replied Cap’n Pern. “Biggest 
nuisance ever was. Jes rush in an’ thresh about and 
kill a lot o’ fish, and then gobbles of ’em up. That 
there consarn rascal was after them blackfish, 
though.” 

“Whew, do they kill— Oh, look, Mr. Kemp’s 
boat’s fast!” 

Sure enough, the second mate’s boat was rushing 
through the sea evidently towed by some creature, 
and a few moments later the boys saw the officer 
stand erect in the bow, poise his lance and lunge for¬ 
ward with it. 

“Reckon we might jes as well pull over thataway 
an’ mebbe get a chanct to strike,” remarked Cap’n 
Pern, swinging the boat’s head as he spoke. 

41 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


In a few minutes they were within hailing distance 
of the second mate’s boat. 

“Did you get one?” yelled Tom. 

“I’ll say so,” shouted back Mr. Kemp. “Come 
over here and bear a hand to tow this critter to the 
schooner.” 

“Waall I’ll be sunk!” cried Cap’n Pern. “What’s 
the matter with thet there crew o’ yourn? Ain’t they 
got beef ’nough for to tow in a consamed leedle black- 
fish?” 

The boats were now close together and the boys 
saw a huge black body rolling in the swelL beyond 
the second mate’s boat. 

“Blackfish?” yelled Mr. Kemp. “You’re a fine 
whaleman! What’s the matter with your eyes, Pem?” 

But the old whaleman had now caught sight of 
the other boat’s kill and the expression that came 
over his weather-beaten old face was so ludicrous 
that the boys roared. His eyes seemed popping from 
their sockets, his mouth gaped and he looked as if 
he had seen a ghost. 

“By the great red herrin’!” he ejaculated at last. 
“I’ll be everlastin’ly keelauled if ’tain’t a whale! 
An’ sparm at thet!” 


CHAPTER IV 


A CLOSE SHAVE 

1 TOLD you they were whales!” exclaimed Tom 
triumphantly, as the two boats drew side by 
side, and the men busied themselves getting 
tow lines fast to the dead whale. 

“They wasn’t,” declared Cap’n Pern, “jes or’nary 
blackfish.” 

“But this is a whale,” argued Tom. 

“Jes dumb luck o’ Mr. Kemp,” replied the old 
whaleman. “Jes happened to be ’long o’ them there 
grampuses. An’ ’tain’t much o’ a whale neither— 
jes a baby.” 

“Well it’s just our luck to be in the boat that didn’t 
get the whale,” lamented Jim. “Did you have much 
of a tussle, Mr. Kemp?” 

“Nothin’ worth while,” responded the second officer. 
“Towed us a bit and died with nary a flurry.” 

“I didn’t know they had sperm whales ’way up 
here,” said Tom, as the crews bent to their oars with 
the whale in tow. 


43 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Don’t, so everlastin’ly often,” Cap’n Pern told 
him. “Come warm weather, they swims in by the 
Banks now an’ ag’in—that is, sparm do—an’ times 
gone there used to was a powerful lot o’ Biscay 
whales ’roun’ about the New Englan’ coast. Yes, 
sir, I recollec’ when a ship could v’yage out o’ New 
Bedford or Nantucket an’ fill up with Biscay ile 
an’ bone inside o’ six weeks.” 

The schooner had now caught a light wind and 
was bearing down upon the boats. A few moments 
later, the whale was alongside and the two boats 
had been hoisted to the davits. Then followed the 
dirty, busy work of cutting in and boiling, with all 
of which the boys were familiar from their cruise in 
the Antarctic. But the whale, as Cap’n Pern had 
said, was scarcely more than a baby. The work was 
all over before midnight, with twenty barrels of oil 
stowed in the schooner’s hold. 

“Pretty good beginning—for three days out of 
port,” chuckled Captain Edwards. “I reckon you 
boys—ahem, owners—must be mascots. Just hope 
the luck holds all through.” 

“Well, there won’t be any bo’sun birds to bring 
bad luck, anyway,” laughed Jim. “Although I sup¬ 
pose there must be some bad omen even up here or 
sailors wouldn’t be satisfied.” 

44 


A CLOSE SHAVE 


‘‘Plenty on ’em,” declared Cap’n Pern. “But don’t 
go to talkin’ an’ a-bringin’ o’ it on. Ain’t it bad 
’nough to have that there black cat aboard—an’ nary 
a dod-gasted soul a-knowin’ where she come from?” 

The boys roared. “I knew you’d find something,” 
cried Tom. “Why, I thought the cat belonged to the 
crew. Why don’t you kill her or something if she’s 
such bad luck?” 

“Kill her!” exclaimed the old man. “By the eter¬ 
nal, don’t ye know no more’n thet? Ye mought jes 
as well kill a Mother Cary’s chicken or a bo’sun bird. 
No sirree! Let good enough alone’s my motter.” 

“Well, you are the most superstitious old whale¬ 
man I ever saw,” laughed Tom. “I’ll bet the cat’s 
what brought the good luck.” 

Cap’n Pern snorted. “Ye mark my words,” he 
muttered as he strode aft. “We’ll be gittin’ inter 
some sort o’ mess long o’ that there cat yit.” 

But for the next three or four days none on the 
Narwhal could have asked for better weather. The 
breeze, though light, was fair and steady. The sea 
ran in long, easy swells and the schooner, curtsey¬ 
ing gently and with every stitch of canvas set, pressed 
steadily on her course. 

Then one night the boys were awakened by the 
tolling of a bell and the ear-splitting screech of a 

45 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


hom. Hastily throwing on a few clothes, they hur¬ 
ried on deck. 

At the first glance about they realized what the 
trouble was. The man at the wheel was barely vis¬ 
ible, although less than a dozen feet distant. The 
faint light of the binnacle was a mere glow and the 
sails, spars, and forward part of the vessel melted 
into nothingness. The Narwhal was enveloped in a 
dense fog. 

From the unseen bows of the ship came the monot¬ 
onous tolling of the bell. At intervals the raucous 
hom screeched from the blanket of gray mist. Borne 
in strangely ghostly fashion from the blackness, came 
the voices of men. 

Tom glanced at his watch and found that it was 
nearly sunrise but nowhere was there a hint of light 
or of dawn. 

“Gosh, but it’s thick!” exclaimed Tom. “I won¬ 
der where we are.” 

“Where I wish we wasn’t,” replied a voice so 
close to the boys that they jumped. “Right plumb 
on the Grand Banks,” continued the invisible speaker, 
whom the boys now recognized as Captain Edwards. 

“What’s wrong with the Banks?” asked Tom. 

“Nothing wrong with them,” replied the skipper 
who now stepped from the curtain of fog and stood 

46 


A CLOSE SHAVE 


near the boys. “But Lord alone knows when we may 
be a-knockin’ into a fishin’ smack, or a-bearin’ down 
on a dory, or gettin’ run down by a liner. I wish to 
heaven this condemned fog would lift.” 

Hardly had he ceased speaking when there was a 
hoarse shout from forward, a tearing, grating sound, 
and a vast dark mass loomed alongside as the Nar^ 
whal scraped past a fishing schooner, snapping off 
the smack’s jib boom. A moment later the stran¬ 
ger was lost in the fog and only faint, angry cries 
told of her whereabouts. 

“Sarved the lubbers right!” exploded Cap’n Pern, 
as he came hurrying aft to see if the Narwhal had 
been injured. “Never a-blowin’ o’ nary a horn, nor 
a-ringin’ o’ their bell!” 

“Did it hurt us any?” asked Tom excitedly. 

“Carried away a couple of backstays,” replied the 
skipper. “Lucky we was both headed the same 
way.” 

By now the fog was getting lighter with the rising 
sun. The boys could see the lower portions of the 
sails, the lower masts, the ship’s deck as far for¬ 
ward as the forerigging, and the dull gray-green sea 
for a few hundred feet about the schooner. Be¬ 
yond that, all was a solid wall of gray through which 
the Narwhal forged slowly ahead, horn and bell con- 

47 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


stantly sounding warnings, and with men aloft striving 
to peer into the impenetrable murk. 

“I should think they’d stop and anchor, or heave to 
until it lifts,” remarked Jim. 

‘‘Better to keep movin’,” declared Mr. Kemp, who 
was peering first to one side and then the other. 
“Long as we’ve steerage way on, we’ve a chance to 
dodge another ship—if we see ’em in time.” 

Presently, from the starboard, came the sound of a 
bell. Then from ahead came the mufiled roar of a 
horn, and soon, from all directions, there were warn¬ 
ings issuing from the fog. 

“Golly, there are boats all around us!” cried Tom. 
“Look! See there, Jim.” 

Jim turned in time to see a ghostly phantomlike 
shape appear as if by magic—a schooner with all 
sails set, and seemingly within a dozen yards of the 
Narwhal, But almost before he could grasp the 
fact that it was a vessel, it had vanished as weirdly 
as it had appeared. 

For an hour or more the schooner picked her way 
through the fog, often swinging sharply to port or 
starboard at the skipper’s hoarsely bellowed orders, 
a dozen times avoiding collision with a smack by a 
few feet and twice swerving just in time to avoid 
running down the tiny bobbing dories. 

4S 


A CLOSE SHAVE 


At last tlie bells and horns grew faint. The cap¬ 
tain breathed more freely and declared he must 
have left the fleet astern. As the fog began to lift 
and a wider expanse of sea and the upper sails be¬ 
came visible, the boys decided all danger was over 
and prepared to go to the cabin and dress properly. 

Then, from the lookout, a frightened yell rang 
out. A shrieking bellow roared from the fog ahead. 
With a bound Captain Edwards leaped to the wheel. 
‘‘Hard aport!” he screamed, as he grasped the spokes 
and strained with the steersman at the helm. 
Startled, realizing that imminent unknown peril 
threatened, confused by the shouts, orders and rush 
of men, the boys stood gazing helplessly about. 

Then once more that ear-splitting, terrific bellow 
thundered from the fog. As the Narwhal’s head 
swung slowly to starboard, a vast, towering, moun¬ 
tainous shape came tearing, rushing, through the fog. 
Dimly through the opaque gray mist, the terror- 
stricken boys saw the tremendous fabric bearing down 
upon them. Far above the schooner’s crosstrees 
reared the lofty stem of a gigantic steamship. Within 
a cable’s length of the Narwhal, the billowing mass 
of foam about the keen steel stem roared with the 
sound of surf. Each second the boys expected to 
hear the crashing blow, to feel the splintering, terrific 

49 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


impact that would spell their doom. Paralyzed with 
fright, they stood motionless and speechless. Noth¬ 
ing, they felt, could save them. The great, shearing 
prow of the steamer seemed to overhang their heads. 
Their staring eyes glimpsed dim, tiny figures leaning 
over the rails far above, shouting, gesticulating, life 
rings in hand. 

And then, with a hissing roar like a passing train, 
the huge liner swept by. Endless rows of port holes 
filled with white faces rushed past the terror-stricken 
boys. The next second the Narwhal was bobbing 
and jumping like a cork on the tumbling heaving 
wake, with only the pall of smoke and the churning 
foam to mark the liner’s passage. 

Leaping upon the schooner’s wildly tossing taff- 
rail, Captain Edwards shook his fist at the spot where 
the liner had disappeared in the fog. Cap’n Pern, 
unable to stand on the rail, seized a belaying pin, 
hurled it after the liner and, throwing his cap on the 
deck, fairly danced with rage. 

“Consarn their everlastin’ hides!” he screamed. 
‘‘A-tearin’ ’crost these here Banks like a house afire, 
an’ fog thicker’n cheese. Blasted murderers! 
A-riskin’ lives o’ honest sailor men jes fer to make 
time an’ save a few dirty, blasted dollars! I’d like 
to git at ’em!” 


50 


A CLOSE SHAVE 


Despite the narrow escape, the seriousness of the 
situation, and the old whaleman’s earnestness, the 
boys could not suppress a grin at the old fellow’s 
towering and thoroughly justified rage at the reckless 
officers of the liner. 

Then, as if the steamship’s passage had been the 
signal, the fog lifted rapidly. A fresh breeze came 
up and presently the Narwhal was speeding over a 
wide clear sea with only a few wisps of whitish vapor 
to mark the fog which had so nearly brought an end 
to the schooner and those upon her. 

“Didn’t I tell ye that there black cat would a be 
bringin’ o’ bad luck!” cried Cap’n Pern, as his temper 
cooled down and the fog disappeared. 

“Nonsense!” laughed Tom. “She brought good 
luck three times now—first the whale, then escap¬ 
ing from that schooner, and then being saved from the 
steamer. And I shouldn’t wonder if she made the 
fog lift, too.” 

“Humph!” snorted the old man. “’Course ye’ll 
have it your way, but if she didn’t bring that there 
fog an’ that consamed pesky liner, what did?” 

“And if she didn’t save us and make the fog clear, 
what did?” responded Jim. 

Cap’n Pern pursed his mouth, jerked his cap 
down over his eyes and stumped off. “No use ar- 

51 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


gufyin’,” he declared. “But yeTl see! Mark my 
words.” 

Three days after their narrow escape fom the liner, 
the boys saw Cape Breton light. Tacking in long 
reaches, the Narwhal worked across the Gulf of St. 
Lawrence, and with the thrill of seeing strange lands, 
Tom and Jim stared through their glasses at the for¬ 
bidding shores of Newfoundland and at bleak Anti¬ 
costi. 

It was slow, hard work beating against tides, cur¬ 
rents and head winds. Late in the season though it 
was, masses of ice still lingered in the coves of the 
shores. Once, as they watched the dirty white 
masses of ice, Tom cried out in delight as he saw a 
number of sleek brown creatures scramble into the 
sea when the schooner approached. 

“Hurrah, those were seals!” he cried. 

“Yep, harbor seal,” said Captain Edwards. “Not 
worth much. But you’ll see a-plenty of real seals 
after a bit. Shouldn’t wonder if we’d get some hides 
up round Belle Isle. Never did see so pesky much 
ice in the Gulf this time o’ year.” 

At last the Straits of Belle Isle were reached, the 
wind shifted and once more sailing free, the Narwhal 
made good time through the narrow waterway be¬ 
tween Newfoundland and Labrador. 

52 


A CLOSE SHAVE 


As they passed the lonely, wave-washed Belle Isle, 
men were sent aloft on the lookout for seals. Noth¬ 
ing but a few herds of the little harbor seals were 
seen, however, and these were so wary' that Captain 
Edwards vowed it would be a waste of time to at¬ 
tempt to hunt them. 

Then, swinging past Cape St. Lewis, the schooner 
was headed up the coast of Labrador for Hebron 
where she was to put in for Eskimos. 

Two days after passing the Cape, the boys were 
scanning the ugly green sea with their glasses when a 
faint, shimmering, cloud-like shape rose upon the 
horizon. 

“Oh, there’s a ship!” exclaimed Jim. “And a 
big one.” 

Mr. Kemp looked up, shaded his eyes with his 
hand and stared in the direction Jim indicated. 
“Ship!” he exclaimed. “That’s a berg.” 

“A berg!” cried Tom. “You mean an iceberg?” 

“Sure,” replied the second mate. “Pretty size¬ 
able one too.” 

“Oh, let’s sail over and see it!” exclaimed 
Jim. 

“Less we see of ’em the better it’ll suit me,” said 
the skipper who had been studying the berg. “But 
you’ll have a chance to see it all right. We’ll have 

53 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


to go out of our course if we don’t want to bump 
plumb into it.” 

Rapidly the berg rose before the schooner, a mas¬ 
sive mountain of ice, its summit carved and melted 
into spires, pinnacles and huge, overhanging shelves, 
steep precipitous sides rising from the wide hum¬ 
mocky base just above the waves and gleaming and 
shimmering with every color of the rainbow. 

‘‘Gee, isn’t it pretty!” cried Jim. “I never knew 
ice was so many colors. And look at those big 
caves in the sides.” 

“And look—oh look, Jim!” exclaimed Tom. 
“There’s some one on it! See, right in front of that 
big green cave!” 

“What in tarnation ye talkin’ of?” demanded 
Cap’n Pern. “Here, gimme them glasses.” 

Adjusting the glasses, the old whaleman stared 
fixedly for a moment at the distant iceberg. “Some 
one on it!” he exclaimed. “Waal, I’ll be blowed if 
there beint—but ’tain’t no human critter. That 
there’s a whoppin’ big b’ar!” 

“A bear?” cried Tom. “Hurrah! that’s all the 
better. Oh say. Captain Edwards, can’t we go over 
and shoot him?” 

“Hmm,” muttered the skipper, “I dunno, but I 
reckon you can. Pern, soon’s ever we get ’bout half 

54 


A CLOSE SHAVE 


a mile from the berg, have the yards swung an’ 
lower the sta’board quarter boat. White bear skins 
is worth takin’ and it’ll give the boys—I mean owners 
—a chance to try their hands. Better let Mr. Kemp 
go along with ’em.” Then, turning to the boys, he 
continued. ‘‘Now mind you do just as Mr. Kemp 
tells you. Bergs is mighty pesky things, an’ a gun 
shot’s li’ble to start a break or a slide or topple the 
dumb thing clean over. Better to lose the bear than 
get kilt.” 

The boys scarcely heard what he said. Filled with 
excitement at thoughts of visiting the berg and shoot¬ 
ing a polar bear, they dashed to their cabin, hastily 
got out their rifles and, stuffing their pockets with car¬ 
tridges, rushed back on deck. 


CHAPTER V 


ON THE ICEBERG 



ITHIN half a mile of the berg, the Nar¬ 
whal was hove to and lay resting mo¬ 
tionless, gently rising and falling to the 
swell. Towering like a mountain peak, the mass of 
ice shimmered and scintillated like a gigantic gem 
against the sky. 

Rapidly the boat sped towards the ice; and the 
boys shivered and buttoned their coats and turned up 
their collars as they drew near the immense ice moun¬ 
tain that chilled the air for a mile or more. 

The bear still squatted upon a hummock in front 
of the deep green cavern in the side of the berg. 
As they drew close and the men rowed more slowly, 
the two boys crept to the bow of the boat and loaded 
their rifles. Nearer and nearer they came. The 
air was like the interior of a refrigerator. Still the 
huge white bear sat motionless, as if awaiting the 
boat, and wondering why he was to receive visitors 
on his drifting ice home. 

Now a scant one hundred yards of open water lay 

56 


ON THE ICEBERG 


between the boat and the berg. In low tones, Mr. 
Kemp ordered the men to cease rowing and as the 
boat lost headway, he spoke to the excited boys. 
“Aim for his breast and shoot,” he said. “He’s a 
fair mark and you ought to get him first crack.” 

Kneeling in the bow of the boat, Tom and Jim 
rested their rifles on the gunwale, took steady aim, 
and pulled triggers. At the dual report a shower of 
ice splinters flew up from beside the bear. The big 
creature reared up on his hind legs, roared out a 
growl that echoed from the cavern behind him, 
pawed wildly at the air and toppled backwards out of 
sight. 

“Got him,” shouted Mr. Kemp. “Give way, 
lads!” 

“Hurrah!” yelled Jim. “Gee, won’t he make a 
fine skin for a trophy. Say, I wonder which of us hit 
him.” 

“We can tell when we get him,” replied Tom. 
“One of us missed and hit the ice; but your rifle’s a 
.30-.30 and mine’s a .45 so we can tell by the bullet 
hole in him.”' 

A moment later the boat grated on the shelving ice. 
The boys leaped on to the berg, and Jim, being the 
first to land, rushed up the rough hummocky ice to¬ 
wards where the bear had fallen. 

57 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


As he reached the spot where the bear had stood, he 
uftered a terrified yell, leaped back, slipped on the 
ice and came rolling and tumbling down the slope to¬ 
wards Tom. Rearing gigantic at the summit of the 
ridge was the bear, his lips drawn back over his huge 
white teeth, blood dribbling from his mouth, his long 
neck stretched out, and his wicked-looking head sway¬ 
ing from side to side. 

Instantly Tom threw his rifle to his shoulder and 
took hasty aim at the bear’s breast. 

“Hey, look out!” yelled Mr. Kemp. “Don’t-” 

But his warning was too late. The roar of the 
rifle cut his words short. There was a stunning, rend¬ 
ing, thunderous crash, the solid ice reeled and tossed 
like the deck of a ship in a heavy sea, and the boys 
and Mr. Kemp staggered drunkenly and fell sprawl¬ 
ing. 

“Wha—what happened?” cried Jim picking him¬ 
self up with a dazed expression on his face. 

“Berg’s goin’ to pieces!” yelled the second officer. 
“Come on back to the boat! That shot started the 
darned ice to slippin’! It’s rotten as punk. Come 
on, the whole blamed thing’s likely to go any min¬ 
ute!” 

“But, but, where’s the bear?” gasped Tom, still 
unable to fully grasp what had occurred. 

58 



ON THE ICEBERG 


“Blast the bear!” ejaculated the second mate. “Get 
a move on!” 

Urging the boys forward, Mr. Kemp rushed down 
the slope. As the boat drew in to the edge of the 
ice, the three scrambled aboard. 

“Lift her, lads!” cried the excited officer as the 
boat shoved off, and the men bent to the long ash oars 
with a will. Hardly had they cleared the berg when 
there was a terrific, ripping, splintering roar. The 
overhanging summit of the berg moved bodily for¬ 
ward, hesitated an instant and then, with the deafen¬ 
ing roar of thunder, came plunging, crashing down 
upon the spot where the three had been but a few mo¬ 
ments before. 

“Gosh!” exclaimed Tom. “Gosh! I’m glad we 
got away.” 

“Gee Whitaker! yes,” cried Jim. “That old bear 
must be squashed flat as a pancake.” 

Everywhere about the berg, huge detached masses 
of ice were floating, bobbing and turning and twist¬ 
ing about. Constantly more and more of the ice 
mountain was crashing down to the berg’s base, fall¬ 
ing with prodigious splashes into the sea. Once 
started by the reverberations of Tom’s shot, the berg, 
softened, full of holes, and rotten, was going to pieces 
before the boys’ wondering eyes. It was a marvelous, 

59 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


fascinating, awe-inspiring sight to see the huge ava¬ 
lanches of gleaming ice, the jewel-tinted spires, the 
needlelike pinnacles, and the great overhanging prec¬ 
ipices rending and tumbling. And as each mass 
dashed itself to pieces upon the base of the berg, or 
plunged into the waves, sending great mountains of 
spray into the air, the vibrations and shock of the 
blow loosened other masses. Then, as those in 
the boat gazed upon the dissolution of the mighty 
berg, Tom uttered an excited cry. 

“Look!” he yelled. “The berg’s moving!” 

It was true. The towering summit of the iceberg 
was swaying. Slowly, almost imperceptibly, it 
swung to one side. More and more it leaned and 
then, with a sudden rush, the mountain of ice toppled 
over. Vast billows of green sea rose high and, with 
the noise of a mighty cataract, the berg capsized. 
Where the sharp, sky-piercing berg had loomed, only 
a low hummocky stretch of ice tossed and heaved 
upon the waves. 

The boys, overwhelmed with the wondrous spec¬ 
tacle, clung to the boat’s gunwales as the tiny craft 
bobbed and rocked on the great combers from the 
berg’s final plunge. 

“Whew!” cried Jim when at last the seas subsided 
and the men pulled towards the schooner. “Wasn’t 

60 


ON THE ICEBERG 


that a sight though? Say, that was worth seeing.” 

‘‘You bet!” agreed Tom. “But just the same I’m 
mighty sorry we lost that bear.” 

Mr. Kemp grinned. “You ought to be glad you 
didn’t lose your own hides,” he declared. “I neve: 
seen a berg so plumb rotten or go to pieces so blessed 
fast.” 

“Jiminy, I’d hate to be drifting south on one the 
way Eskimo Joe did,” said Tom, “if that’s the way 
they act.” 

“ ’Twouldn’t be no picnic,” agreed Mr. Kemp, “but 
even a berg’s a heap better’n nothin’.” 

“Thank Heaven you’re all safe!” cried Captain 
Edwards as the boat reached the Narwhal’s side. 
“When I saw that first slip, I thought ’twas all over 
with you.” 

“Waall, I reckon a miss’s good as a mile,” com¬ 
mented Cap’n Pern. “But I swan, if you two young 
scallawags ain’t everlastin’ly gittin’ inter more close 
shaves than ever I heerd of afore.” 

Tom winked at the skipper. “I suppose the black 
cat started that!” he remarked. 

“Drat that there cat!” cried the old whaleman 
petulantly. “Jes the same I wish t’ blazes she was 
a-settin’ over to that there berg ’stead o’ on this here 
ship.” 


61 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


For several days after the boys’ adventure on the 
iceberg the Narwhal bore steadily on. Several times 
she passed tiny rocky islets over which were clouds 
of screaming sea birds, and through their glasses the 
boys could make out the thousands and thousands 
of black and white birds that covered the rocks from 
sea to summit. There were great white gannets, big 
gray-and-white gulls, shining black cormorants, acres 
of swallow-tailed terns, row after row of closely 
packed auks, puffins, and guillemots. Even though 
the schooner was a mile or more from the rookeries, 
the harsh cries and screams of the countless birds 
came to the boys’ ears in raucous chorus. 

“Say, I thought there were a lot of birds down at 
Tristan da Cunha,” said Jim. “But they weren’t a 
patch on these.” 

“Why, there must be millions of them!” agreed 
Tom. “Wouldn’t it be fun to climb up there among 
’em?” 

Constantly in the schooner’s wake also were flocks 
of birds and many of these were strange to the boys. 
Some—big gray fellows with pearly white breasts 
and enormously long wings—Mr. Kemp told them 
were shearwaters. Others, that seemed constantly at¬ 
tacking the gulls and terns, and that looked like swift¬ 
winged hawks with spiked tails, they learned were 

62 



ON THE ICEBERG 


jaegers and the captain told the boys these lived by 
robbing the other birds and a few snowy white crea¬ 
tures that Tom thought were sheathbills were fulmar 
petrels, he was told. 

By now the weather was cold, cheerless, and chilly 
and the boys were glad to don their winter clothes. 
Though the sun shone brightly, the wind was raw 
and had winter’s bite and sting to it and the 
spray felt like ice water as it dashed into the boys’ 
faces. 

“Whew, but it’s cold!” cried Tom as he came on 
deck one morning, and buttoned his reefer and oil¬ 
skins tighter. “Feels like midwinter. I wonder— 
oh, say, Jim! Look here!” 

Fascinated, the two boys gazed about. On every 
hand, some within a few hundred yards, others a mile 
or two distant, still others mere ghostly forms upon 
the horizon, were scores of gleaming, shimmering, 
rainbow-tinted icebergs. ' 

“Reckon there’s enough bergs to suit you!” ex¬ 
claimed Captain Edwards. “I never seen so pesky 
many of ’em so far south this time o’ year. Must 
ha’ been a mighty cold winter up this way.” 

“Is that what makes it so cold?” asked Jim. 

“Yes,” replied the skipper, “a sailor can feel 

ice long before he sees it, and there’s enough ’round 

63 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


us to keep all the whales in the sea in cold storage for 
a million years.” 

All through the day tlie Narwhal navigated slowly 
through the berg-filled sea. Throughout the night 
the boys were constantly aroused by shouts, the creak¬ 
ing of tackle, and the rushing feet of the crew as the 
schooner turned, and tacked, and picked her perilous 
course among the mountains of ice. But the next 
morning only a few distant bergs and scattered 
masses pf honeycombed floe ice were visible, and be¬ 
fore noon the gray shores of Labrador were sighted, 
with the little port of Hebron straight ahead. 

To the boys it was a wonderfully novel experience 
to gaze shoreward at this out-of-the-world village in 
the Arctic. They cried out in delight when tiny, 
sharp-ended kayaks came dancing towards the Nar¬ 
whal, with their Eskimo occupants paddling fur¬ 
iously. But as the tiny, skin-covered craft drew 
near, the boys were disappointed. 

“Oh pshaw!” cried Tom, “they don’t look like 
Eskimos. They’re not dressed in furs, but are wear¬ 
ing dirty overalls and caps. They look like Chinese 
dressed up like whalemen.” 

“Shure ’tis that they do!” agreed Mike, who stood 
near. “B’glory they do be wan an’ the same specie 
with the hay then Chinee, I do be thinkin’.” 

64 


ON THE ICEBERG 


“YeTl be seein’ plenty on ’em in hides an’ furs 
afore ye’re done,” declared Cap’n Pern. “These 
here boys is whalin’ ban’s, an’ is sort o’ civ’lized. 
But ye don’t expect ’em to be a-wearin’ o’ a ever- 
lastin’ lot o’ furs in this hot weather, do ye?” 

“Hot weather!” cried Jim. “/ call it cold.” 

The old whaleman chuckled. “Waall, by cricky, 
ye don’t know what’s a-comin’ to ye, then!” he de¬ 
clared. “This here’s midsummer; but come ’long an’ 
meet these Eskimo lads.” 

The kayaks were now alongside and the Eskimos 
were clambering over the schooner’s rails. They 
were a happy, good-natured-looking lot, with broad 
yellow faces, flat noses, little slant, beady black eyes, 
wide mouths, made still wider by a constant grin, 
and lank, stiff black hair hanging to their shoulders. 
All looked so much alike that the boys could not 
understand how any one could tell one from 
another, and all were identical in the matter of 
dirtiness. 

“Whew, but they are dirty!” exclaimed Jim. “I’ll 
bet they haven’t ever taken a bath!” 

“And aren’t they little!” added Tom. “Why, 
they’re no bigger than boys.” 

But if the two boys were interested in the Eskimos, 

the latter were simply fascinated with the boys, and 

65 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


gathered about them talking and laughing and jab¬ 
bering in their own tongue. 

Mr. Kemp, Cap’n Pern and the skipper were also 
busy conversing with two of the Eskimos who ap¬ 
peared to be leaders or chiefs. When the sec¬ 
ond officer addressed one of them in his own 
dialect, the filthy little fellow fairly beamed with 
pleasure. 

Presently one of the men approached Tom and 
held out a greasy, soot-blackened paw. ‘‘HTo!” he 
exclaimed with a broad grin. “Me Unavik, plenty 
good whaler feller, betcher life!” 

Tom laughed and shook hands gingerly. “Glad 
to know you, Unavik. My name’s Tom. This is 
Jim, my cousin. You going along with us?” 

Unavik shook hands very cordially with Jim—far 
too cordially to suit him in fact—and rolled his 
tiny eyes as he looked over the schooner. “Betcher 
life!” he announced. “Gimme chew t’bac. How 
much feller you want?” 

“Oh, Mr. Kemp, get us some tobacco,” cried Tom, 
“this boy wants some.” 

“Boy!” exclaimed Mr. Kemp, as he tossed over 
some plugs of tobacco. “He’s an old man—great¬ 
grandfather, I expect.” 

Unavik bit off a huge chunk of the plug, passed it 

66 


ON THE ICEBERG 


to his companions, and nodded his big head. “You 
betcher!” he mumbled. “Me oF feller. Got fif’y 
year mebbe.” 

I 

Then the other Eskimos began talking, telling their 
names—which the boys could not remember or pro¬ 
nounce—^jabbering away with their quaint broken 
English, and surrounding the boys, so that they were 
thankful when Captain Skinner broke up the party 
by inviting them to go ashore. 

Accompanied by the flotilla of kayaks, the boat 
pulled to the beach. To the boys’ surprise they 
found that there were a number of white people in 
the settlement; which contained several good build¬ 
ings, a tiny church, a little mission school, a post 
office, and a police station. 

There was also a low, rambling trading-post, pre¬ 
sided over by a red-faced, white-whiskered old 
Scotchman and this proved the most interesting spot 
to the boys. 

Here was exactly the sort of place they had read 
about in stories—the low-ceiled, big room with 
shelves piled with blankets, sacks of meal, axes and 
knives, guns and ammunition, and great bales of furs. 
Antlers and heads decorated the walls. There was 
a huge open hearth, snowshoes and dog sledges were 
stacked in comers, polar bear skins covered the 

67 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


floor and the stocky Eskimos, and even a few tall, 
grave-faced Indians, were lounging about or dicker¬ 
ing over a trade with the clerk. 

Here Captain Edwards secured a number of fur 
garments as well as other supplies. Then with the 
boys he strolled about the village. The boys had 
never stopped to realize that Eskimos did not dwell 
in ice igloos all the time and they were greatly sur¬ 
prised to find them occupying roughly built huts and 
much-patched tents of old canvas and skin. They 
saw drying racks covered with thousands of salmon 
and other fish which the Eskimo women—even more 
unkempt and dirty than the men—were cleaning and 
splitting and suspending on the racks. They visited 
the church and talked with the good-natured, rotund 
priest. They looked at the school and watched the 
bright-eyed, broad-faced Eskimo kiddies striving to 
master the rudiments of English and arithmetic. 
They even stopped for a chat with the straight, clean- 
featured, bronzed-faced, military-looking representa¬ 
tive of the law. 

“Gosh, I never saw so many dogs!” exclaimed Tom 
as they walked back toward the boat. “They simply 
swarm here.” 

Captain Edwards laughed and the police officer, 
who was with them, smiled. 

68 



ON THE ICEBERG 


‘‘And I’ll warrant you never saw such pure bred 
mongrels!” he chuckled. 

“But they’re mighty useful to the natives—they 
hunt with them, use them for teams and, if they’re 
hard up, eat them.” 

“Well, they look as if there’d be mighty little to 
eat on them,” declared Jim. 

Taken altogether, there was not much to be seen, 
while the overpowering smell of fish which filled the 
entire village almost nauseated the boys, and they 
were mighty glad to be once more aboard the Nar¬ 
whal. 

In the afternoon the boaC again went ashore and 
returned packed with Eskimo hands who had been 
signed on. The bundles of garments and other things 
were hoisted aboard, and with the Eskimos helping 
the crew at the capstan, the Narwhal’s anchor was 
hoisted, the sails were spread, and Hebron was left 
astern. 


CHAPTER VI 


THE BATTLE 


S TEADILY, day after day, the Narwhal contin¬ 
ued on her way northward. From morning 
until night—throughout the short night as well 
—bergs or floe ice were constantly in sight; but the 
boys had become accustomed to such things and 
scarcely gave the ice mountains a second glance. 
They had spent hours searching each berg or ice cake 
they passed, in the hopes of seeing another bear but, 
aside from an occasional seal or flocks of birds, not 
a living creature was seen. 


The Eskimos, much to the boys’ surprise, proved 
splendid sailors. Always at the mastheads men were 
on the lookout for whales. At times the schooner 
wallowed slowly through the cold green seas, with 
barely enough wind to enable the captain to steer 
clear of jagged cakes or towering bergs. At other 
times, she tore storming through the tremendous 
waves under shortened sails, rushing between giant 
bergs, crashing into masses of drift ice hidden in the 


70 



THE BATTLE 


foam of breaking waves. Again she would rest 
motionless, becalmed, shrouded in dense fogs, while 
resounding through the impenetrable mist came the 
roar of surf on bergs, the crashing of falling ice 
masses, and the shrill screams of sea birds. Then 
every man was on the alert, peering with straining 
eyes into the blanket of fog. A dozen times the boys’ 
hearts seemed to skip a beat, as, close at hand, a vast 
white phantom loomed suddenly from the fog, and 
the Narwhal rocked and rolled to the backwash of 
the giant seas breaking upon ice. Again and again, 
too, the schooner drifted so dangerously close to a 
berg that boats were lowered and, straining at the 
oars, the men towed the heavy vessel clear. 

“Funny thing, that,” remarked Mr. Kemp, as the 
Narwhal was thus being dragged from a towering 
berg. “Put two ships, or a berg and a ship, in the 
middle of the sea and the blamed things’ll drif’ to¬ 
gether—jes as if they loved comp’ny.” 

“That is fxmny, though I never thought of it be¬ 
fore,” said Tom. “Don’t you suppose it’s currents 
or something?” 

“Nope,” declared the second officer, “just chuck 
a couple of matches into a basin of water an’ leave 
’em be, an’ you’ll see they’re boun’ to git side of each 
other.” 


71 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


‘‘Say, I have noticed that!” exclaimed Jim. 
“What’s the reason?” 

“Give her up,” replied Mr. Kemp. “Mystery to 
me, but then there’s a heap of mysteries at sea.” 

The boys had been greatly surprised too to find 
that they could see throughout the night, that there 
was no darkness, and that the sun set like a dull 
yellow ball, hung at the rim of the sea for a space, 
and almost before it disappeared, popped up again. 

“Gosh, I never realized we were where the sun 
never sets,” cried Tom the first time he noticed this. 
“Somehow I can’t believe we’re way up here in the 
Arctic.” 

The boys were vastly interested and fascinated in 
the Northern Lights, although compared with the 
midnight sun, they were faint and pale. Captain 
Edwards told them they would see the sight of their 
lives when winter came, and the Aurora blazed in all 
its glory. 

But all these things grew tedious, and the boys 
longed for a whale to be seen, or for some exciting 
thing to happen. Then one day the shout so long 
expected rang from the masthead, and at the cry, 
“She blows!” all was excitement. Leaping into the 
shrouds, tlie two boys ran up the rigging. As Cap¬ 
tain Edwards’ shout of, “Where away?” 

72 


was an- 


THE BATTLE 


swered by, ^‘Three points off the lee bow!” the boys 
stared in that direction to see two little fountains of 
spray rise above the waves, and two immense 
rounded black objects break the water. 

“Hurrah! there’re two of them,” cried Tom. 
“Oh, Captain Edwards, can’t we go after them?” 

“Not a bit of it!” snapped the skipper. “I ain’t 
riskin’ your lives goin’ on whales!” 

“Well, suppose the owners order you to take us?” 
demanded Jim. 

Captain Edwards scowled and tried to look savage, 
“Have to ’bey orders, I guess.” 

“Well, then you’re ordered!” yelled the boys in 
chorus, and without waiting to hear the skipper’s com¬ 
ment, they raced toward Cap’n Pern’s boat and leaped 
into it with the men. 

“Here, what the tarnation ye doin’ in here?” de¬ 
manded Cap’n Pern as he saw the two boys. “This 
here boat ain’t no place fer youngsters.” 

“Owners’ orders,” grinned Tom, “come on, 
Cap’n Pern, or Mr. Kemp’ll get those whales ahead 
of you.” 

“Waall, I’ll be blowed!” exclaimed the old whale¬ 
man, as he entered the boat. “Annyhow, mind ye 
keep still an’ don’t go a-screechin’ or a-talkin’. Bow- 

heads has demed sharp ears.” 

73 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“All right, weTl be as still as mice,” promised 
Jim. 

To the boys’ surprise, the men did not take to 
their oars, but set up the short mast and spritsail 
in the boat. With Cap’n Pern at the rudder, 
they went speeding before the wind toward the two 
whales. 

Mr. Kemp’s boat was also sailing swiftly toward 
the huge creatures and neck and neck the two little 
craft danced over the long green seas. Then, shift¬ 
ing the helm slightly, Cap’n Pern swung around and 
held his course directly towards the heads of the 
monsters. 

“Gee, that’s funny,” whispered Tom. “When they 
rowed after those whales on the Hector they always 
went at them towards the tail. They’ll see the boat 
coming this way, sure.” 

A minute later Cap’n Pern raised his hand and the 
men silently and quickly furled the sail and un¬ 
shipped the mast. Pulling noiselessly on the oars, 
the crew drove the boat closer and closer to their 
quarry. The two whales were swimming slowly 
along, now and then sinking below the surface until 
they were almost invisible, and then rising high and 
blowing. The boys noticed that the little columns of 
vapor rose from the middle of the creatures’ heads 

74 


THE BATTLE 


instead of from the tip of the noses as was the case 
with the sperm whales they had seen. 

Tom nudged Jim. ‘‘That’s one thing I’ve learned,” 
he whispered. “You can tell a bowhead whale from 
a sperm by the blow.” 

“Ssh!” muttered Jim. “Cap’n Pern’s scowling at 
us.” 

The boat steerer had now unsheathed his harpoon 
and was standing in the bow and the boys, glancing 
towards the other boat, saw that Mr. Kemp’s boat 
steerer had done the same. Evidently both men 
would strike at almost the same moment and the boys 
hardly knew whether to keep their eyes fixed on their 
own harpoonier or the other. Nearer and nearer to 
the great black creatures the boat crept. The boys 
could see the huge curved upper jaws, the gray 
fringed masses of whalebone in the animals’ mouths 
and even the rough growth of great barnacles on the 

whales’ noses. Then, when it seemed as though the 

> 

boat would bump into the nearest monster, the craft 
was deftly swung to one side. It slipped past the 
enormous head and, before the surprised whale could 
dive or dodge, the harpoonier lurched forward with a 
grunt, and the immense, heavy, barbed iron struck 
the whale with a sickening thud. Instantly the men 
backed water furiously and not a second too soon, 

75 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

With a crash that almost stunned the boys, the whale’s 
stupendous flukes struck the water within a yard of 
the frail boat, sending a deluge of water over the oc¬ 
cupants, and the next instant the boat was being 
hurtled through the sea at a terrific pace as the 
stricken whale strove to escape the stinging iron in 
its side. White-faced, gripping the gunwale tightly, 
the boys stole a hurried glance towards Mr. Kemp’s 
boat and saw that he too was fast. But unlike their 
own craft, which was being towed at express-train 
speed, the second mate’s boat was being whirled in 
circles as the whale milled. 

Hardly had the two boys noticed this, when their 
craft tipped perilously. Green water poured over 
the rail as the whale altered his course. There was 
a warning shout from Cap’n Pern and the boys saw 
that they were headed directly towards Mr. Kemp’s 
boat. 

‘‘Git ready to cut loose!” yelled Cap’n Pern. 
“Dod gast the critter, we’ll foul Kemp!” 

At his cry, one of the men started forward to 
seize the hatchet. But as he raised it, the whale 
again turned, the boat almost capsized and the man, 
in his frantic efiPort to prevent himself from being 
thrown overboard, dropped the hatchet which flashed 
into the sea. 


76 


THE BATTLE 


Before he could whip out his sheath knife, the 
whale had dashed across the line fast to the second 
mate’s boat. The two crafts careened, rocked, zig¬ 
zagged wildly and crashed together with a bump that 
tumbled the occupants from their seats. Then, be¬ 
fore the dazed and struggling men could act, the two 
boats were dashing through the sea with rails to¬ 
gether and with the two whales tearing at topmost 
speed side by side as though having a race. 

“Let ’em go, dod gast ’em!” screamed Cap’n Pern. 
“Never seed nothin’ like it afore. Stand ready to 
cut loose ef they mill or soun’I” 

Onwards the two creatures sped. The schooner 
was miles astern and then, so suddenly that the 
skilled steersmen could not swerve their craft one 
of the whales checked his onward rush and sounded. 
The next instant he rose within a dozen rods of the 
terrified boys, and, with thunderous, crashing, ter¬ 
rific blows of his huge tail, strove to demolish the 
boat and his enemies. 

Speechless with deadly fear, the boys cowered in 
the boat, while seemingly over their heads the great 
black mass of flukes waved and whipped, striking 
down to right, to left, in front of the frail cockle¬ 
shell of a boat, half filling it with water churned up 
by the fearful, irresistible blows. The men strained 

77 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


and shouted and pulled frantically, grim-faced, wild¬ 
eyed and with superhuman efforts dodging the lash¬ 
ing, death-dealing flukes by a hair’s breadth. 

To the boys it seemed hours that they were within 
that awful danger zone. Each second they expected 
to be tossed high in air, bruised, battered, crushed 
amid the shattered planks and timbers of the boat. 

Then there was a sickening crash as Mr. Kemp’s 
boat banged into them. For a moment the two craft 
were locked tight and then the second mate’s boat 
leaped ahead, dragging Pern’s boat with it. Scarcely 
had it moved a yard, when the great trip-hammer 
tail struck a fearful blow where it had been an 
instant before, and, as the boat sprang into the air 
on the upflung wave, the second mate’s boat drew 
free and flew off after the whale to which it was fast. 

“Go in!” yelled Cap’n Pern excitedly. “We’ll git 
him!” 

At his words, he dropped the steering oar, scram¬ 
bled forward and, as the boat steerer reached the 
stern and seized the big oar, the grizzled old whale¬ 
man braced his wooden leg against the knee chock 
and seized a bomb lance. Then he tossed the 
weapon down, unsheathed the long, keen-bladed hand 
lance, and poised it ready to strike. Bobbing on the 
water, still being churned up by the furious creature’s 

78 


THE BATTLE 


tail, the boat crept close. The boys’ hearts seemed 
to cease beating as they saw the great mountain of 
black skin almost within arm’s length. Now but a 
few feet separated the boat from the maddened whale. 
Cap’n Pern gathered himself for the death stroke; the 
boat’s bows seemed almost to touch the whale’s side, 
when, without warning, the great body sank beneath 
the sea and, drawn by the swirling suction of the 
whale submerging, the boat leaped forwards directly 
over the creature’s back. But the gray-headed old 
veteran of a hundred battles with giant whales was 
not to be cheated of his prey. As the boat lurched 
forward into the eddying froth above the whale, 
Cap’n Pern leaned over the boat’s bow, and with a 
shout drove the long lance straight down. 

The next instant the boat was flung high. It ca¬ 
reened dizzily, oars were wrenched from the men’s 
hands and, as the mortally wounded whale flung him¬ 
self up, the craft slid like a toboggan from his back, 
buried its bow beneath a wave, rose sluggishly, and 
swung around broadside to the thrashing, rolling 
mass of pain-crazed flesh and blood and bone. 

So close was the boat to the whale’s side that the 
men struggled to fend it off by their oars. With 
wild yells and shouts, Cap’n Pern warned them to 
keep close; for all around them the awful tail was 

79 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


striking, crashing, whipping, as the dying whale 
lashed the water into a maelstrom of foam and, only 
hy keeping the boat so close to the monster that his 
tail could not reach them, could their lives be saved. 

That they could escape seemed impossible. They 
were in the very center of a cyclone of mortal peril, 
a circle of death, and even the tough, fearless, experi¬ 
enced whalemen grew white-faced. Their jaws were 
hard set and they knew that any second might spell 
their doom. 

Then, with one stupendous effort, the whale reared 
its head high. The flukes swept above the boat, a 
crimson column spurted from the monster’s head 
and, with a whistling sigh like escaping steam, the 
whale rolled upon its side, dead. 

‘Tin up!” screamed Cap’n Pern. “By Moses, that 
there was the closest shave I ever seen. Jes dumb 
luck, nothin’ more!” 

At this instant a strange sound issued from the 
bottom of the whaleboat. Cap’n Pern’s jaw fell. 
The men stared at one another wonderingly. 

“What’s diet?” gasped the old whaleman. 

Tom leaned forward, reached into a locker and 
drew out—the black cat! 

Cap’n Pern’s eyes seemed about to burst from their 

sockets. “Waall, I’ll be-” he began and then 

80 



THE BATTLE 


stood staring absolutely bereft of speech as Tom 
dragged out the canvas bucket and disclosed four 
blinking-eyed kittens. 

‘‘Now what about bad luck!” he cried trium¬ 
phantly. 

•Cap’n Pem scratched his head, frowned and spat 
over the boat’s side# “I calc’late them kittens must 
ha’ changed the luck,” he declared. “I don’t rec- 
ollec’ ever bearin’ o’ sech a thing afore. But jes 
the same. I’ll bet ye if that there cat hadn’t been 
’long of us, we’d never ha’ had all this here fracas. 
.Wussedest fight I ever seed.” 


CHAPTER VII 


THE GLACIER 


N OW that the excitement was over and the 
boys had a chance to look about, they 
searched the sea for Mr. Kemp. But no¬ 
where was he to be seen. Then their glance turned 
towards the schooner, and Tom uttered a frightened 
cry. 

“The NarwhaVs gone!” 

Cap’n Pern turned from where he was directing 
the men as they labored to get a fluke chain about the 
dead whale’s tail, shaded his eyes and swept a swift 
glance around the horizon. “Reckon she are,” he 
remarked quite undisturbed. “Get a waif up, 
Nate,” he continued, addressing the boat steerer. 
“Swan if I know whar she be. An’ looks like 
Kemp’s hull down, too.” 

“But what will we do?” cried Jim. “How can 
we get to the Narwhal?’’ 

“Won’t,” replied the old whaleman, once more 

bending to his work. “Let the schooner come to 

82 


THE GLACIER 


us. Reckon the skipper hain’t los’ track o’ us.” 

“Ye see,” explained the boat steerer as he fastened 
a red flag to the mast and, with two of the men to 
help him, stepped the spar, “folks ’board the 
schooner can see us a heap farther than we kin see 
them. They’ll be havin’ a lookout to the to’gallan’ 
crosstrees an’ keep track o’ where we be.” 

“Oh, I understand,” said Tom. “But say, Nate, 
why did you go for the head of that whale? When 
we were on the Hector they were always careful to 
go on them from the tail end.” 

“Them was sparm whales,” replied the boat 
steerer. “A sparm whale kin see for’rard but not 
aft, an’ a right whale or bowhead kin see aft an’ not 
for’rard. ’Sides, a sparm fights mos’ly with his jaw 
an’ a right or a bowhead fights with his flukes. ‘Be- 
war’ o’ a sparm’s jaws an’ a right whale’s flukes,’ is 
a ol’ whalin’ motter.” 

“But what’s become of Mr. Kemp, do you sup¬ 
pose?” queried Jim. “Do you think anything’s hap¬ 
pened to him?” 

“Naw, I guess he’s jus’ been towed out o’ sight,” 
declared Nate. “Anyhow it’s every man for hisself 
a-goin’ arter whales. Reckon the Old Man kin see 
him.” 

The fluke chain was now fast about the whale’s 

83 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“small,” as the portion of the creature’s body near 
the tail is called, and the boat, fastened to it by the 
stout hemp line, rode as steadily and as easily as 
though moored to an island. The immense carcass 
formed a lee, and the oil oozing from his wounds, 
smoothed the water, making a broad “slick.” 

“Purty good-sized critter,” commented Cap’n 
Pern, as he seated himself and lit his pipe. “Bet 
ye he’ll turn a hundred bar’ls, an’ nigh half a ton 
o’ bone. Put up a right smart fight though—blowed 
if he didn’t. Waall, boys, how did ye like the fun?” 

“Fine, now it’s over,” laughed Jim. “But I ad¬ 
mit I wished I was on the Narwhal a good many times 
while that old whale was thrashing around with his 
flukes.” 

“Gosh, but he did come near smashing us!” cried 
Tom. “Just the same. I’m glad we were here, and 
that the first time we went in on a whale he was a 
fighter. Say, won’t the boys back home open their 
eyes when we tell them about this?” 

“Oh, there’s the Narwhal!’’ exclaimed Jim, who 
had stood up and was gazing about. “And not a bit 
where I expected her to be.” 

“Waall, if ye could ha’ kep’ track p’ which way 
was which, ye’d ’a been a heap sight better’n I be at 
keepin’ my bearin’s,” chuckled Cap’n Pern. “By 

84 


THE GLACIER 


heck, fer a spell I actooaly did think that there oT 
whale was a-goin’ fer to git the best on us.” 

‘Would have if ye hadn’t a-fetched him as we run 
over his back,” declared one of the men, “By glory, 
Cap’n, that was some stunt ye pulled off. But say, 
it mos’ made me split, a-seein’ of ye a-diggin’ that 
lance into the water like as if ye was a-spearin’ 
eels.” 

“Shucks, that weren’t nothin’,” declared Cap’n 
Pern. “I don’ calc’late to miss a chanct even if the 
dumb critter do sound jes when I’m a-gettin’ ready 
fer to lance him.” 

“But he almost wrecked us!” exclaimed Tom. “If 
he’d come up a second sooner, he would have cap¬ 
sized the boat and we’d all have been drowned or 
smashed by his flukes.” 

The old whaleman chuckled. “Waall, I reckon 
we mought ha’ been,” he admitted. “But we wasn’t. 
’Sides, no whaleman never thinks o’ sech things. 
We wuz out fer to git this here whale, and it’s git 
him or git stove.” 

“But why didn’t you use the bomb lance?” asked 
Jim. “You had a good chance.” 

“Look here, son,” said the old man petulantly. 
“I was brung up along with a reg’lar iron an’ a reg- 
’lar lance. These here new-fangled contraptions 

85 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


may be all right fer them as likes ’em, but give me 
the old fashion’ weepons every time. By gum, I 
want ter see whar I’m a-drivin’ o’ the lance at. 
’Sides, any dumb-foozled lan’lubber could git whales 
by a settin’ off an’ a-shootin’ of ’em. They ain’t no 
sport in it.” 

By now the Narwhal was within a quarter of a mile 
of the boat. As her yards were swung and she was 
hove to, the men picked up their oars and headed for 
the schooner. As they drew alongside, Cap’n Pern 
shouted up to Captain Edwards and asked if they 
had seen the second officer’s boat. 

“No, he was towed hull down,” replied the skipper. 
“But we can fetch him all right. Just stick a waif 
in that whale, get your boat aboard and we’ll run 
down to him.” 

One of the men scrambled on to the whale’s body, 
and drove a sharp pointed iron bar bearing a flag at 
the end into the carcass. Then, casting loose the line 
to the fluke chain, the crew clambered on to the 
schooner and hoisted the boat to its davits. 

“Well, boys, how did you like it?” asked Cap¬ 
tain Edwards as Tom and Jim reached the deck. 
“Had a right pretty tussle—I was watchin’ you from 
aloft.” 

“Fine!” declared Tom. “But we were scared 

86 



THE GLACIER 


some of the time, and oh, we had a great joke 
on Cap’n Pern! The cat was in the boat and 
she had four kittens.” 

The skipper roared. ‘‘Well, that must have 
broken the spell!” he exclaimed. “What did Pern 
say?” 

“Same thing,” replied Jim, “but he added that 

\ 

if it hadn’t been for the cat we wouldn’t have had 
so much trouble.” 

“Waall, I bet ye that’s so!” burst out the old 
whaleman. “An’ there’ll be other bad luck a-comin’ 
from the dumb critter.” 

“B’ the powers!” exclaimed Mike who stood near. 
“ ’Tis a ol’ fool yez be. Shure, didn’t yez know 
a cat bein’ afther havin’ kits aboorrd a ship do be 
the foinest luck in the world? B’gorra ’tis four 
av thim yez is afther sayin’? Thin ’tis four whales 
yez should be afther gettin’.” 

Instantly, as usual, the two one-legged old sailors 
began to argue, and the boys and the captain turned 
away to let them have it out. Presently, from the 
masthead, came a shout that the missing boat was 
sighted. Soon it was visible from the deck. But 
the boys, even with their glasses, could not distin¬ 
guish a whale fast to Mr. Kemp’s boat. 

“I wonder if they lost it,” said Jim. “Say, 

87 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


if they did, Cap’n Pern will swear it was the cat.” 

But a moment later, Tom’s sharp eyes spied a 
tiny rag fluttering above the waves some distance 
from the second mate’s boat. “There’s the whale!” 
he shouted. “See, it’s got a waif on it.” 

“You’re right,” agreed Jim. And then a moment 
later, “Gosh, Tom, is that another waif—over there 
to the west of the boat?” 

Tom looked steadily for a moment. “Golly, it 
is!” he cried. “Oh, Captain Edwards, they’ve got 
two whales!” 

“What?” cried the skipper hurrying to the boys 
and taking Tom’s glasses. “By the great red her¬ 
ring, you’re right!” 

“Why in tarnation ain’t he fas’ to ’em?” cried 
Captain Pern, who had stopped his discussion with 
Mike at the boys’ announcement. 

Expect he was pullin’ for the ship and couldn’t 
tow ’em,” said the skipper. 

A few minutes later they were within hailing dis¬ 
tance. Then the schooner was hove to, and the boat 
drew alongside. 

“See you had good luck, Mr. Kemp!” cried the 
Captain heartily. “Pern got a big bull too—put up 
purtiest tussle I ever seen—and that’s three bow- 

heads in a afternoon! Guess Mike’s right about 

88 


THE GLACIER 

those kittens, boys! Only need one more whale to 
make the four!” 

Mr. Kemp grinned. ‘Tf you’ll jus’ run down to 
the east’ard a couple o’ miles, you’ll find t’other one,” 
he announced. 

“What in thunder ye talkin’ ’bout?” cried Cap’n 
Pern, staring at the second mate as though he thought 
he had gone mad. “Ye don’t mean to stan’ there 
an’ say—oh, ’tain’t nat’rall” 

“True jus’ the same,” grinned Mr. Kemp. “I 
beat ye by two bowheads. Pern.” 

“Shure, Oi knowed it,” commented Mike. “B’ 
gorra, ’tis hopin’ the blessed cat’ll be afther havin’ 
o’ kittens iviry day, b’jabbers.” 

Every one aboard the schooner was in high spirits 
over the phenomenal luck of getting four whales in 
one day, and as one after the other of the big car¬ 
casses were picked up and made fast by stout hemp 
lines, the men sang and laughed. Nate, the har- 
poonier, roared out the quaint song: 

My father’s a hedger and ditcher, 

My mother does nothing but spin, 

While I hunt whales for my living. 

Good Lord, how the money comes in! 

And lustily all joined in the chorus, for thousands 

89 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


of dollars had been won in the past few hours, and 
every member of the Narwhal’s crew would share in 
the prize. Even old Captain Pern grudgingly agreed 
that he could find no fault with the ship’s luck, and ad¬ 
mitted the black cat’s spell must have been broken. 
“But don’t fergit weather’s allers ca’mest jes afore 
a squall,” he said as a parting shot. 

Mr. Kemp’s three bowheads were soon alongside, 
but that taken by Cap’n Pern’s boat was several miles 
distant, and the schooner could make no progress 
with the light wind with the three huge carcasses in 
tow. 

“Now aren’t you glad we had that motor put in?” 
asked Tom of Cap’n Pern, as Mike started the motor 
and, with the staccato reports of the exhaust echo¬ 
ing over the Arctic sea, the Narwhal slowly pushed 
through the long swells, with the dead whales like 
a string of deeply laden barges trailing astern. 

“Waall, I reckon I got ter admit ’tis a bit handy,” 
replied the old whaleman. “An’ I ain’t so all-fired 
ol’ fashioned I can’t admit it, neither. An’ time we 
gits inter the ice pack, I reckon it’ll come in mighty 
useful, too. But jes the same I ain’t got no use 
fer bumb lances nor dartin’ guns, nor such new¬ 
fangled contraptions. No, siree, my father and 
my granther used good, hand-wrought irons, an’ 

90 


THE GLACIER 

what was good ernough fer them’s good emough for 
me, by cricky.” 

With the four whales alongside, cutting in and 
boiling began in earnest, and so anxious was the 
crew to get the oil and bone stowed and start after 
more whales, that they worked almost without ces¬ 
sation, cutting their periods or watches of rest to half 
the usual time. 

“Mighty glad we took them Eskimos aboard over 
to Hebron,” remarked Mr. Kemp, as he paused a mo¬ 
ment from his labors and watched the busy brown 
men, who had stripped to the waist and were scram¬ 
bling about, jabbering incessantly, reminding the boys 
of a group of big monkeys. “And that ‘boy’ as you 
called him, Unavik, is a corker. Guess we’ll make 
him boss of the Eskimo bunch.” 

A little later Unavik approached the two boys, 
grinning from ear to ear, covered with grease and 
soot, and gnawing at a strip of raw blubber. “H’lo!” 
he exclaimed. “Plenty work me tell. Suppose you 
no got chew t’bac?” 

“No, but I’ll get you some,” said Tom, and hurry¬ 
ing to the cabin he returned with a plug. 

The Eskimo bit a huge piece from the tobacco, 
tore off a mouthful of the blubber and industriously 

chewing both together smacked his lips. 

91 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Gosh, but that must be some combination!” ex¬ 
claimed Jim. 

“I suppose it’s a regular treat to him,” said Tom. 
“But it makes me sick just to think of eating that 
oily blubber, not to mention the tobacco.” 

“All right, me go work, you betcher!” ejaculated 
Unavik as soon as he could talk. “You good frien’. 
Bimeby me go ’long hunt bear ’side you feller.” 
Stuffing the tobacco in his grease-soaked trousers, 
the Eskimo hurried back to the cutting stage. 

All through the night, with the Aurora flickering 
above the northern horizon, and with the dull orange 
sun just visible upon the southern rim of the sea, 
the men toiled on. All through the following day 
the dripping strips of blubber were hauled on deck, 
the mincing knives thudded through the greasy mass 
upon the horse, the try works belched thick columns 
of black smoke, the cooper’s hatchet rang inces¬ 
santly as casks were headed up, the tackles groaned 
and whined as the filled barrels were lowered into 
the hold, great masses of the whalebone were piled 
on deck and carcass after carcass, having been 
stripped of its precious covering of blubber, was 
cut loose and drifted slowly away from the ship. 

Screaming, screeching, and squawking, a vast flock 
of sea birds had gathered about, swooping fearlessly 

92 


THE GLACIER 


among the men to tear bits of flesh and blubber from 
the whales. The birds rested by hundreds upon the 
grease-slicked water, sweeping back and forth above 
the decks, and hovering in clouds above the dis¬ 
carded, floating bodies. Never had the boys seen 
so many birds. They spent hours watching them as 
they sailed and wheeled and fought over the scraps 
and offal. Then at last the fourth carcass was cast 
adrift, the final pieces of blubber were boiled, the 
smoke from the try works dwindled and died out, 
the casks were stowed, and with over three hundred 
barrels of oil and more than two tons of choice bone 
in her hold, the schooner’s sails were hoisted. The 
men cleaned and swabbed the decks, and onward 
into the north and east the Narwhal held her course. 

For two days the schooner sailed steadily on, but 
no whale, no tiny puff of spray, broke the even sur¬ 
face of the sea. On the third morning, the boys 
glanced ahead to see soft gray mountains looming 
against the sky. 

‘‘Greenland!” announced Mr. Kemp who was on 
watch. 

“Gosh, it doesn’t seem possible,” exclaimed Tom, 
gazing fixedly at the distant land. “Now we really 
are in the Arctic. Will we have a chance to go 
ashore, Mr. Kemp?” 


93 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Guess you will,” replied the second officer. “The 
skipper’s goin’ to get some more Eskimos yonder— 
puttin’ into Disko Bay. Shouldn’t wonder if he did 
some sealin’ or walrus huntin’ too.” 

“Hurrah! won’t it be great to say we’ve really been 
in Greenland?” cried Jim. “Golly, I never realized 
there were mountains there though.” 

Rapidly the land grew more distinct. The boys 
could see deep bays—which Captain Edwards told 
them were fiords—great clefts cut far into the cliffs 
and marvelously colored with soft purples, mauves 
and blue. Here and there a valley between the hills 
gleamed green as an emerald, while vast, glistening, 
white masses of ice and snow zigzagged through 
narrow defiles. Stretching seaward from the shores 
was a broad white plain that rose and fell and moved 
like a restless white sea. 

“What is that white?” asked Tom who could not 
make it out. 

“Shore ice, pan ice,” replied the captain. “Tide 
and wind sets it inshore, but it’s all pretty mushy 
now. Look, there’s a bit of it ahead.” 

Bobbing up and down upon the waves, gleaming 
like silver in the sunshine, the boys saw several acres 
of drifting ice. As the schooner slipped by it, they 
exclaimed in delight at the wonderful beauty of the 

94 


THE GLACIER 

vivid green and blue of the submerged parts of the 
ice. 

“Why, the water’s as clear as in the West Indies!” 
exclaimed Jim. “And almost as blue. Say, I always 
thought this place was dull and gray and covered 
with ice and snow, and it’s as fresh and lovely as 
anything. Now I know why it’s called Greenland.” 

“Oh, what’s that big white wall there?” cried Tom. 

“It looks like a great white cliff.” 

The skipper glanced shoreward. “That’s a gla¬ 
cier,” he replied. “River of ice, like. They’re 
what make icebergs.” 

“How on earth can they make icebergs?” asked 
Jim, studying the precipitous face of the glacier. 

“Water cuts under ’em and they break off, and 
the pieces are the bergs,” explained the captain. 
“That’s what we call calving.” 

“Well, it’s the prettiest colored thing I’ve ever 
seen,” declared Jim. “It’s for all the world like a 
giant opal and constantly changing. Gosh, it doesn’t 
look like any ice I ever saw.” 

The Narwhal was now sailing close to the outer 
edge of the pack ice and a sharp lookout was kept 
for seals or whales. Then, rounding a jutting cape, 
the boys saw a deep blue fiord with a stupendous 
glacier leading down a great valley to the rocky 

95 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


beach. The mouth of the fiord was clear of ice, and 
so the NarwhaVs course was shifted, and she slipped 
into the dark shadows of the towering cliffs. The 
water, calm as a millpond, was deepest indigo, and 
upon it the rocky heights and the great glacier were 
reflected as in a burnished mirror. Fascinated, the 
boys were gazing at the beautiful picture when the 
lookout’s hail reached the deck. ^^Pod o’ seal over 
to wind’ard,” he shouted. ‘‘Close in shore!” 

Captain Edwards sprang into the rigging, gazed in 
the direction indicated and leaped back to the deck. 
“Harps!” he announced. “We’ll have a try for ’em. 
Stand by to lower away the port boat. Mr. Kemp, 
you take charge, you’ve had more experience with 
them critters than any one else.” 

“Can we go?” asked Tom. 

“Guess you can,” responded the captain, “no 
danger sealin’.” 

In a few moments the boat was in the water, the 
sealing clubs, with guns and rifles, were placed in 
readiness, and with a will the crew pulled toward 
the dark specks that marked the dozing, unsuspecting 
seals. 

As they drew near shore, the mountains seemed to 
overhang the boat, and the face of the glacier loomed 
enormous against the background of the hills. Here 

96 


THE GLACIER 


and there, grounded on bars or shoals, were small 
bergs and one enormous one, with lofty pinnacles like 
the many spires of a great cathedral, was floating 
majestically near the head of the fiord. From the 
cliffs, where they stood in endless rows, the auks, 
guillemots, puffins, and cormorants gazed down and 
protested in raucous cries. Presently the boys could 
distinguish* the seals—great brownish yellow crea¬ 
tures with dark harp-shaped markings on their backs 
—a hundred or more, drawn far up on the shore 
among the rotting cakes of ice and sleeping soundly 
in the warm summer sunshine. 

Silently the boat crept nearer. Without a sound, 
it grated against the shore. Armed with their clubs 
and one or two firearms, the men leaped towards the 
herd. Instantly the seals were awake, their heads 
were thrown up, their big lustrous eyes turned won- 
deringly. Then in terror at the onrushing horde of 
men, with short sharp barks and yelps of fear, they 
commenced scrambling towards the sea and safety. 
But the men, led by the Eskimos, had spread in a 
half circle. They were between the seals and the 
water. As the first panic-stricken creatures reached 
the shouting, yelling crew, the heavy clubs rose and 
fell with dull, sickening thuds. The seals dropped 
dying in their tracks and the others, turning, 

97 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


strove blindly to get away from these new enemies. 

‘‘Gosh, it makes me sick!” exclaimed Tom as he 
saw the slaughter of the poor helpless creatures. 
“It’s worse than killing sea elephants. No more 
sealing for me!” 

“Nor me either,” declared Jim, “it’s just murder. 
And aren’t they pretty things!” 

In a few moments it was all over. The beach and 
ice were strewn with the dead seals—not a single 
one had escaped—and the men, flushed and perspiring 
with exertion, and shouting triumphantly, tossed 
aside their bludgeons and commenced stripping the 
hides from the dead seals. 

The two boys shouldered their rifles and started 
along the beach towards the glacier, now and then 
stopping to pick up some odd shell or bright- 
colored pebble. Once they came to a tiny brook 
brawling over the stones and followed it into a little 
valley, rich green with grass and brilliant with scarlet 
poppies and bright golden yellow flowers. From al¬ 
most under Tom’s feet, a ptarmigan whirred up and 
stopping, the boys discovered the nest filled to over¬ 
flowing with the heavily spotted brown eggs. A mo¬ 
ment later Jim had his turn as he flushed a black and 
white snow bunting and found its cleverly hidden nest 
and spotted green eggs in their bed of fur and down. 

98 


THE GLACIER 


All about, from waving weeds stalks and jutting 
bowlders, buntings and longspurs, gray sparrows and 
dainty homed larks twittered and sang. From far 
up in the blue sky came a sweet rollicking song as 
a lark soared and bubbled over with joy. The boys, 
seating themselves on a ledge of rock, looked 
silently about, enjoying the peaceful scene and un¬ 
able to believe that this warm sun, these bright 
flowers, these trilling birds were in far-off Greenland, 
a land they had always pictured as barren, desolate, 
and cold. Then, as they retraced their steps towards 
the beach, Jim jumped as a big Arctic hare leaped 
fromTts resting place and went bounding off among 
the rocks. 

“Whew, he was a whopper!” cried Tom. “Why 
didn’t you shoot him, Jim? He’d have tasted fine 
for a change from canned meat.” 

Jim laughed. “I was so startled I forgot I had 
a gun,” he admitted, “and say, I’m rather glad I 
did. Somehow I’d hate to shoot anything here, it’s 
so pretty and happy.” 

“Well, I guess we can struggle along without 
stewed rabbit for a while yet,” said Tom. “It 
does seem kind of a shame to kill anything 
here.” 

“The men aren’t half through yet,” announced 

99 

» > 

> ) ) 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Jim as the two boys reached the beach once more. 
“Say, Tom, let’s walk over to the glacier.” 

“All right,” agreed Tom readily, “it isn’t far 
and it will be fine to see it close to. Say, doesn’t 
the Narwhal look like a speck off there—with all 
these big hills round!” 

“Yes,” assented Jim, “and just think of how she 
looked when we first saw her being towed into Fair 
Haven. Say, Tom, it’s almost weird, looking at her 
off there and with us here and thinking she’s that 
same old tub we saw, and that we came clear up 
here on her.” 

“Yep, and that we’re her principal owners,” 
chuckled Tom. 

So, talking and chatting, the two drew closer 
and closer to the towering face of the great glacier. 
Presently they stopped to admire the play of colors 
in the mighty mass of ice and, to get a clearer view, 
they clambered up the steep slope of the rocky hill¬ 
side. They were standing there, gazing at the gi¬ 
gantic face of the glacier, when there was a splinter¬ 
ing, awful roar, the whole end of the glacier plunged 
forward like a falling mountain and, as the crash of 
its fall echoed and reverberated from the hills, a 
mighty, foaming, surging wave came hissing and 
roaring up the beach. Never had the boys seen such 

100 



THE GLACIER 


a huge comber. Green and irresistible, it raced 
straight towards them, the mighty swell raised by the 
plunge of the stupendous mass of ice. The boys, 
already startled and frightened half out of their wits 
by the deafening crash of the falling ice, stood 
breathless and wide-eyed, watching the oncoming 
wave that threatened to engulf them. 

But they were just beyond its reach. With the 
upflung spray drenching them to the skin, the wave 
dashed itself against the rocks at their feet and then, 
with a sullen growl, drew back. Again and again 
the big waves came tearing in, but each was smaller 
than the preceding, and soon the beach stretched 
smooth and clear to the gently lapping ripples. 

“Whew! it was lucky we climbed up here!” ex¬ 
claimed Jim. “Say, it wouldn’t have been any fun 
to have been down on the beach.” 

“Or alongside that glacier,” added Tom. “Jim- 
iny, look at that berg! We are lucky! We’ve seen 
a glacier calving!” 

“And it’s some calf!” cried Jim, as he gazed at the 
enormous berg which but a few moments before had 
been a portion of the glacier. 

“And look at the Narwhair exclaimed Tom. 

The schooner was tossing and bobbing as if beset 
by a tempest, the masts cutting great arcs against the 

101 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


sky, the bow shipping green water, white froth pour¬ 
ing from the scuppers. 

“Golly, that berg did set a sea going!” ejaculated 
Jim. ‘TTl bet Cap’n Pern’ll swear it was all due to 
the cat.” 

“Well, it’s no bad luck anyhow, unless— Say! 
Jim, how about the men? Gosh! perhaps they were 
drowned or smashed by the waves. Come on, let’s 
beat it!” 


CHAPTER VIII 


WHALES AND WHALES 

S houts assured the boys that the men were still 
there long before they rounded a point and 
came in sight of the scene of the killing. They 
had not escaped unscathed. The rending crash of 
the falling ice had warned them and, knowing what 
would follow, they had raced up the beach beyond 
reach of the waves. But the boat, lifted on the tre¬ 
mendous sea, had been left high and dry, wedged 
among the rocks and ice, hopelessly shattered. The 
bodies of the seals had been scattered far and wide. 
Some were floating far from shore, others had been 
cast high on the beach. The skins which had already 
been stripped from the creatures were rolled and 
tossed among the rocks for a hundred yards up and 
down the shore. The men searched out the pelts and 
proceeded to skin the remaining seals. A waif had 
been raised on the boat’s mast to attract attention of 
those on the schooner, and as the boys arrived at the 

103 ' 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

spot another boat was speeding across the bay to¬ 
wards them. 

“Hello!” cried Mr. Kemp as he caught sight of 
the boys. “I was just about settin’ off to look for 
you. Feared you might ha’ been catched in that 
wave or somethin’. Where was you?” 

“We were on the way to the glacier,” said Tom, 
“and got up on a rock to see it better when it calved.” 

“Darned lucky you wasn’t ’longside of it,” declared 
the second oflEcer. “Don’t never go foolin’ ’round a 
glacier this time of year. Never can tell when they’re 
goin’ to bust loose. Stove our boat too, darn it.” 

By the time the second boat arrived, the last of the 
seals was skinned. Piling the hides and the contents 
of the stove boat into the other craft, and dragging 
the shattered boat to the water, the party set out for 
the Narwhal, towing the injured craft. 

“By gum, didn’t I tell ye thet cat was a-goin’ fer to 
bring bad luck?” exclaimed old Pern as the boys and 
Mr, Kemp climbed over the rail, and the old whale¬ 
man saw the boat with its shattered planking. 

“Oh, dry up!” burst out the second officer. “Don’t 
care if you are mate, you’re an old croaker. Ain’t 
nothin’ to do with the puss. You know’s well as any 
one glaciers is always calving in summer.” 

Cap’n Pern’s eyes opened in wonder and he stared 

104 


WHALES AND WHALES 


speechless at Mr. Kemp. Twice he opened his 
mouth as if about to speak, but both times he failed. 
At last, shaking his grizzled head dolefully, he turned 
and walked away. 

Soon the schooner was again under way, chugging 
out of the fiord under her own power. Once more 
in the open sea, she heeled to the wind and bore north¬ 
ward for Disko Bay. As she came in sight of Disko 
Island, passing close to the many islets at the bay’s 
mouth, the boys were enthusiastic over the beauty of 
the scene. Presently they caught sight of a little ‘ 
cluster of huts and tents before which a row of kayaks 
were drawn upon the beach. 

Before the Narwhal’s anchor plunged overboard 
the schooner was surrounded by the little bobbing 
skin canoes. To the boys’ joy they saw that these 
Eskimos were clad in skins and were exactly like the 
pictures they had always seen of these people. The 
Eskimo hands on the schooner greeted them with yells 
and chattered rapidly with them. Presently the new¬ 
comers were scrambling on to the Narwhal’s deck. 
But at close quarters these Greenland Eskimos proved 
as greasy and filthy as those the boys had seen at He¬ 
bron. 

‘‘I never saw such dirty people!” exclaimed Tom 

as he edged away from the ill-smelling crowd. 

105 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Don’t be expectin’ of ’em to be nothin’ else, do 
ye?” said Cap’n Pern. “How the Sam Hill they goin’ 
fer to keep clean? Reckon ye’d be a mite dirty if all 
the fresh water ye had fer to bathe in wuz melted 
snow.” 

“But I should think they’d all be sick and die,” 
said Jim. “Why, they must live exactly like 
pigs. 

“Shure thin’, ain’t pigs the hilthiest av’ cr’atures!” 
exclaimed Mike. 

But later, when, the boys went ashore, they found 
much of interest, despite the odors and the dirty in¬ 
habitants. They saw fat-faced Eskimo women, their 
hair done up in big greasy topknots, industriously 
chewing skins to cure them. They saw others carry¬ 
ing their bright-eyed little kiddies in the pouchlike 
hoods on their backs. They peered into the smoky 
reindeer skin tents and saw the soapstone lamps with 
their wicks of moss floating in oil. They saw the 
men carving walrus tusks into weapons and uten¬ 
sils, and they watched a couple of boys as they broke 
a dog team to harness. The Eskimos seemed very 
friendly and good-natured, and when Tom uttered an 
exclamation of surprise as a boy lashed out with 
his rawhide whip and deftly flipped the ear of a 
surly dog a dozen feet distant, the young Eskimo 

106 


WHALES AND WHALES 

grinned broadly and said something in his own 
tongue. 

‘‘Says if you’ll give him a coin he’ll show you 
something,” interpreted Mr. Kemp who stood near. 

Tom tossed the boy a quarter which the youngster 
examined critically, and bit with his firm white teeth. 
Apparently satisfied, he walked a short distance away 
and placed the coin upon the top of a little bowlder. 
Retracing his steps until fully twenty feet from the 
coin, he swung his whip about his head, suddenly 
lurched forward and with a crack like a pistol the 
snakelike lash struck the coin and sent it spinning 
high in the air. Dashing forward the boy caught it 
dexterously as it fell. 

“Gosh, that was fine!” cried Tom. “Whew! he 
can handle a whip!” 

Instantly the two boys were surrounded by the 
Eskimo lads, all clamoring for a chance to exhibit 
their skill and for some time the two boys were busy 
handing out their loose change and watching the Es¬ 
kimos flip them from resting places with whips or hit 
them with their arrows as the coins were tossed into 
the air. 

Not until the boys’ money was exhausted did they 
stop. Then, followed by the troop of young Eskimos, 
Tom and Jim continued on their round of the village. 

107 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“I never knew Eskimos lived in tents,” said Jim as 
Mr. Kemp stopped to bargain with a wrinkled old 
man for some carved ivory curios. “I thought they 
lived in igloos.” 

The second mate laughed. “Funny, most all folks 
get that idea,” he replied. “Wonder how they think 
these lads is goin’ to build snow houses in sum¬ 
mer.” 

“Well you see we never realized it was summer— 
that is, warm—up here,” said Tom. “Somehow we 
always thought of the Arctic as cold and covered with 
ice all the year round.” 

“Won’t we have a lot to tell the fellows at home?” 
said Jim. “How these women chew the skins to tan 
them, and how they live in wigwams just like In¬ 
dians and say—what’s that man doing? Look, he’s 
splitting up a match.” 

Sure enough, the Eskimo they were watching was 
very carefully splitting a sulphur match into tiny 
shavings with his knife while holding it over a bit of 
dry moss. 

“He’s getting a light for his pipe or a lamp,” re¬ 
plied Mr. Kemp. “Matches are scarce and the Es¬ 
kimos ain’t folks to waste nothing. When they want 
to use a match, they split it same’s he’s doin’, and 
bimeby one of the pieces’ll light and he’ll have his 

108 


WHALES AND WHALES 


fire, and ’stead of havin’ a match less he’ll have a 
dozen more. Look, there she goes!” 

‘‘Well that is funny!” cried Tom. “But those tiny 
slivers can’t be used. They’d break just as soon as 
he tried to scratch them.” 

“Trust the Eskimos to look after that,” chuckled 
the second mate. “When he wants to use one of them 
slivers, he’ll tie it on to a bit of bone afore he 
scratches it.” 

“Gee, but they are clever!” declared Jim. “Talk 
about thrift!” 

“I’ll tell you another thing,” went on Mr. Kemp. 
“Tobaccer’s scarce too, so, after they’ve smoked a 
pipe for a spell, they cut up the wooden stem and 
smoke that along with the tobaccer. Jus’ as good 
flavor, I reckon, and goes a blamed long ways to¬ 
wards savin’. Yes, sir, they’re a thrifty bunch. 
Even a Scotchman’d have blamed hard work to teach 
’em much. And say, don’t throw away them brass 
shells from your rifles. Over to Hudson Bay you 
can trade ’em for good pelts. Yes, sir, get good fox 
skins for a shell each.” 

“Oh, you’re kidding us!” cried Tom. “They can’t 
be such fools as all that.” 

“Honest Injun, I ain’t,” protested the mate. “And 
they ain’t fools to do it. What a thing’s worth 

109 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


depends on how much you want it. And them 
Eskimos want brass shells a heap more’n they want 
fox skins. They can go out and get foxes most 
any old time, but they can’t dig up brass or shoot 
it.” 

“Yes, I suppose that’s so,” said Jim thoughtfully. 
“Sorry we threw away those shells we fired at the 
bear, but I guess we’ll have plenty more before we’re 
through.” 

Although the boys were anxious to get some of the 
beautiful skins they saw, Mr. Kemp advised them to 
wait, assuring them that they’d be able to get all they 
wanted from the Eskimos about Hudson Bay, where 
the Narwhal would winter, even if they did not suc¬ 
ceed in killing the creatures themselves. But they 
could not resist the temptation to buy a complete fur 
suit each. Tom chose a costume of white baby bear 
trimmed with blue fox, while Jim secured a suit of 
sheeny, silvery seal elaborately ornamented with in¬ 
tricate designs worked in strips of reindeer skin and 
with a fringe of white fox fur about the hood and 
collar. 

Both boys roared with laughter as they tried on 
the suits while the Eskimos gathered about and joined 
in the merriment. > 

“Gosh, if you wear that and any one sees you, 

110 


WHALES AND WHALES 

they’ll take you for a bear and shoot you,” declared 
Jim. 

‘‘And if they see you they’ll think you’re a new 
kind of walrus,” retorted Tom. 

“Hello, been getting outfits, eh?” exclaimed Cap¬ 
tain Edwards who now appeared. “But come along, 
we’re getting off within the hour.” 

A dozen Eskimos had been obtained at the village, 
and in addition, the skipper had secured several bales 
of valuable furs, nearly two hundred pounds of 
walrus ivory, and a quantity of whalebone. 

“Guess you’ll have a chance to hunt walrus, boys,” 
remarked Captain Edwards as the boat pulled to¬ 
wards the Narwhal. “We’ll run across to Baffin 
Island. These Eskimos tell me there’s a herd of 
walrus over about Cape Hewitt. Then we’re off for 
Hudson Bay, after dropping these chaps here again.” 

“Well, if hunting walrus isn’t any more sport than 
sealing. I’ll not care for it,” announced Tom. 

“You’ll find it very different,” the skipper as¬ 
sured him. “No knocking walrus over the head. 
Not a bit of it—they’re tough propositions and show 
fight. You’ll have all the excitement you’re looking 
for.” 

A number of the Eskimos had come off to the 
schooner in their kayaks, some of which were large 

111 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


boats with double apertures in their skin-covered 
decks to accommodate two men. These were all 
hoisted on to the Narwhal’s deck, Mr. Kemp explain¬ 
ing to the boys that much of the walrus hunting was 
done by the Eskimos in their frail boats. 

Once more under way, the Narwhal headed west¬ 
ward across Baffin Bay. As usual the lookouts 
were constantly searching the sea for whales. Tom 
and Jim, anxious to test their skill and having nothing 
else to amuse them, also went aloft and relieved the 
men, for Captain Edwards had already had a demon¬ 
stration of the boys’ keen vision when on the Hector 
in the Antarctic. For a long time the two boys swept 
the broad expanse of sparkling water in vain. Here 
and there floating ice broke the blue-green surface, 
rafts of big eider ducks floated lightly on the waves, 
cormorants, gulls, and other birds sailed and wheeled 
about and occasionally a round black head, which the 
boys recognized as a seal, would break through the 
surface, stare curiously at the schooner and with a 
splash and a flirt of the back flippers, disappear in the 
depths. But no great, shiny, black expanse of glis¬ 
tening skin, no tiny fountain of spray, rose above the 
rippling water and the boys drowsed at their posts. 

Then, Jim’s sleepy eyes noted a curious looking 
object upon the sea half a mile or so to the north. 

112 


WHALES AND WHALES 


At first he took it for a soggy cake of ice, but it 
seemed to be moving as though carried in a swift 
current. Then he decided it was a water-logged spar, 
and yet it did not look just right for that either. Puz¬ 
zled, he stared and then gave a shout. Clearly from 
the grayish white object a little puff of steamlike 
vapor had risen. 

‘‘Blows!” he yelled almost unconsciously, and then, 
half ashamed of his involuntary cry and realizing it 
was no whale he saw, he cried out, “Come up and take 
a look, Mr. Kemp.” 

The second mate ran nimbly up the rigging, glanced 
about, gazed fixedly in the direction Jim indicated, 
and cupping his hands yelled down, “Beluga! ’Bout 
four p’ints off the starboard bow—school of ’em.” 

“Beluga?” exclaimed Jim as the officer started 
down the shrouds. “What’s that?” 

“White whale!” replied Mr. Kemp, as he rapidly 
descended to the deck. 

“Well, that’s a new one on me,” declared Jim, 
yelling across to Tom. “I thought all whales were 
black. Oh look, Tom! There is a school of the 
things and- Gosh! I thought they were ice!” 

Already the boats were being swung, and by the 
time the boys reached the deck, two craft were being 
lowered over the side and the men and Eskimos were 

113 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


tumbling into them. Without waiting to ask permis¬ 
sion, the boys leaped into one of the boats and a mo- 
. ment later were speeding towards the odd whitish 
creatures swimming slowly along and all unconscious 
of danger. 

As the boats drew near the whales, they spread out, 
the harpooniers laid aside their oars and stood in 
the bows with irons in hand, and in a moment more 
were within striking distance of the creatures. Al¬ 
most at the same instant the various harpoons darted 
forward, and as the keen points of the irons buried 
themselves in the animals’ sides, the belugas leaped 
half from the water, looking to the boys’ wondering 
eyes far more like gigantic white seals than whales. 
Then, with a rush, the creatures started off, towing 
the boats at a terrific rate through the water, turning 
and twisting, sounding and milling, sometimes leap¬ 
ing high in air, at other times rolling over and over, 
and striving by a hundred unexpected moves to rid 
themselves of the stinging weapons in their sides. 
As Tom said afterwards, it was like playing enormous 
trout, for the men alternately hauled in or let out the 
line; they laughed and shouted and yelled as if 
thoroughly enjoying the sport and there was none of 
the tense strained attitude that the boys had seen when 
attacking the bowheads. 


114 


WHALES AND WHALES 


But the fight did not last long. Within fifteen min¬ 
utes from being struck the white whale was tired out. 
He rested almost motionless, blowing frequently; and, 
hauling in the line hand over hand, as the crew urged 
the boat forward, the men drew the craft close to the 
big, dirty-white creature. An instant later the long, 
keen-bladed lance flashed, the stricken whale threw 
its head high in air, thrashed madly with its tail, 
and rolled slowly over on its side in the reddening 
water. 

“That wasn’t much of a fight!” exclaimed Tom as 
the boat was run alongside the dead beluga and the 
fluke chain was made fast. 

“Never do give much of a tussle,” said Mr. Kemp, 
“they ain’t much more’n second-rate whales anyhow. 
No bigger’n blackfish.” 

Towing the dead whale, the boat pulled toward the 
schooner and a few minutes later the other three boats 
came in, each with his white, twenty-foot carcass bob¬ 
bing along behind it. Then for the first time, the 
boys saw that the Eskimos were also out in their 
big kayaks and were paddling furiously over the 
waves in pursuit of the remaining belugas. Running 
into the rigging the boys watched the Eskimos through 
their glasses. They saw the foremost paddler in the 
nearest kayak urge his skin craft among the speed- 

115 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

ing whales; the man in the forward seat raised his 
arm, there was a flash as a harpoon sped through 
the air, and the next moment a huge, dark-colored, 
balloon-shaped object was bobbing up and down, 
dashing this way and that where the beluga had 
been, while the kayak paddled off in another di¬ 
rection. 

“Gee,' he missed him!” cried Tom. “And say, 
what on earth is that thing on the water?” 

“Search me!” replied Jim. “Golly, there’s three 
more of ’em. And not a single kayak is fast to a 
whale. Let’s ask about it.” 

Hurrying to the deck the boys approached Captain 
Edwards. “Oh, Captain,” cried Tom, “what are 
those big round things out there by the Eskimos’ 
kayaks? And how is it not a single kayak is fast to 
a whale? Those fellows must be dubs not to get 
fast when they’re right among the whales.” 

The skipper roared with laughter. “Dubs!” he 
exclaimed. “Why, my boys. I’ll warrant not a Es¬ 
kimo missed gettin’ fast. But of course you don’t 
understand. Them things you see a-bobbin’ about 
yonder are floats—skin bladders, and fast to the Es¬ 
kimos’ irons in the whales. They don’t risk their 
kayaks a-gettin’ fas’, but jus’ let the whales tire ’em- 
selves out a-towin’ the buoys ’round and meantime 

116 


WHALES AND WHALES 
/ 

go after other critters. They’ll bring ’em all in, 
don’t you worry.” 

“Well, we have got a lot to learn,” remarked Jim 
turning away. “Look, Tom, there comes a kayak 
now, and—yes, they’re towing two whales.” 

Interestedly the two boys watched the approaching 
Eskimos, and one after another, the kayaks came pad¬ 
dling alongside, each towing one or more belugas. 
By the time all were alongside the schooner, twelve 
white whales were floating under the vessel’s lee and 
the crew were working like beavers cutting in the dull 
white creatures. The work was easy and rapid com¬ 
pared with cutting in the bowheads or a sperm whale, 
for the belugas were tiny creatures compared with 
the other monsters the boys had seen. 

Within twenty-four hours after first sighting the 
school, the last of the catch had been cast adrift, and 
the Narwhal was again sailing westward toward Baffin 
Island and the walrus grounds. 

Elated at their success in sighting the white whales, 
the two boys ran up the rigging to their places on the 
crosstrees. Scarcely had Tom glanced about when 
his shout of, “She blows!” rang out. Barely a mile 
ahead a sparkling jet of vapor had risen above the 
sea, and an instant later a stupendous body had 
broken the surface, gleaming like polished metal in 

117 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


the sun. Cataracts of water poured from it. Tom 
fairly gasped at the size of the creature, and his voice 
was shaking with excitement as he yelled back, “a 
point off the port bow, about a mile away,” in re¬ 
sponse to the Captain’s call of, “Where away?” 

“It’s the biggest whale ever!” he cried excitedly 
to the officers as he reached the deck. “Say, we will 
have a fight with him!” 

Captain Edwards chuckled. “I’ll bet we would 
—if we gave him a chance,” he replied. “But we 
ain’t a-goin’ to meddle with that critter.” 

“You mean you’re not going after him?” cried 
Tom in wondering tones. “Why, why, he’d give 
over a hundred barrels!” 

“Don’t doubt it,” smiled the skipper, “but he can 
keep it under his blamed old hide for all of us.” 

“Do you mean you’re afraid to tackle him?” de¬ 
manded the puzzled boy. 

Mr. Kemp and Cap’n Pern burst into a roar of 
laughter. “Yes and no,” declared the second officer, 
“that’s a finback.” 

“Finback!” exclaimed Jim. “What’s that?’ 

“Consarndest critters there be,” declared Cap’n 
Pern. “Ef ye wanter git stove or kilt or towed ter 
kingdom come, jes go in on a finback. ’Course I 
ain’t skeered o’ doin’ of it—never seed a whale yit 

118 


WHALES AND WHALES 


thet skeered me, but shucks, what’s the use? Derned 
critters’ll tow ye nigh fifty mile ’fore ye kin lance ’em 
an’ fight like Sam Hill. An’ arter ye’ve druv home 
the lance, ef yer boat ain’t smashed ter kindlin’ wood, 
an’ ye ain’t kilt, the consamed critter’s jes mean an 
underhanded enough fer to sink.” 

‘‘Then you don’t touch them!” exclaimed Tom. 
“Gosh, it seems a shame to let such big fellows go. 
Aren’t they ever killed?” 

“Steam whalers—Scotch and Skowhegians take 
’em,” replied Mr. Kemp. “But you got to have 
harpoon guns and bomb lances and three inch cables 
and steam winches to get ’em.” 

By now the whale which had been the subject of 
the conversation was within plain view from the deck, 
and the boys fairly gasped as they noted its enor¬ 
mous size. An instant later it had caught sight of the 
schooner and in a swirl of foam sounded and dis¬ 
appeared. 

“Well, we’re still learning,” laughed Tom. “I 
always thought whales were whales, but I know now 
that there are whales and whales.” 


CHAPTER IX 


THE WALRUS HUNT 

H our after hour the Narwhal sailed steadily 
on, and ever as she proceeded, the floating 
ice and lofty drifting bergs grew larger 
and more numerous. When the shores of Baffin Is¬ 
land at last rose above the sea, the water was only 
visible as narrow lanes of green amid the wide 
stretch of rough ice. How the schooner could ever 
get through the vast field with its, bobbing close- 
packed cakes and its towering bergs, was a mystery 
to the boys. They watched intently as old Cap’n 
Pern, now in charge as ice pilot, bawled out quick, 
sharp orders, and at his commands, the helm was 
shifted, yards were swung and sails trimmed instantly 
as the Narwhal tacked and turned and twisted and 
threaded her devious way through the narrow leads. 
Often after the schooner’s passage, the ice, disturbed 
by her wake, would drift across the channels, and soon 
the boys, looking astern, could see nothing but the 

120 


THE WALRUS HUNT 


vast field of ice showing no sign of the open water by 
which they had entered. 

Here, too, the boys saw why the topsail schooner 
was such a favorite with Arctic whalemen. To be 
sure, Cap’n Pern had already explained it to them 
when they had first discussed the Narwhal’s rig, but 
until they actually saw it demonstrated they did not 
fully realize how handy the rig was amid the ice. 
Often, as the vessel plunged forward along a narrow 
lead, the passage would end in an impenetrable bar¬ 
rier, and the boys held their breaths as the schooner 
seemed about to dash into the mass of ice. But each 
time the old whaleman’s voice would roar out an 
order. The men, ready at sheets and braces, would 
bend to the ropes and, as the huge topsail yard swung 
about, the Narwhal would slow down, hesitate, and at 
the very instant the boys expected to hear the splinter¬ 
ing of ice and the crashing of shivered planking, the 
schooner would begin to move backward. But at last 
the leads became so narrow, so tortuous and so 
choked with ice that Cap’n Pern declared they could 
go no farther. 

“Reckon we’d better be gettin’ out ice anchors, an’ 
lyin’ here till she opens up,” he declared, addressing 
Captain Edwards. “Soon’s wind or tide changes, 

the derned ice’ll begin ter move.” 

121 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Humph, and take us with it, like as not,” re¬ 
sponded the skipper. “Never did see such a lot of 
ice ’long here this time o’ year. And time’s flyin’. 
If she don’t open up mighty quick, we’ll have to put 
about and make for the Straits or we won’t be a-gettin’ 
into the Bay this season.” 

“Can’t you run in with the motor?” asked Tom. 
“Seems to me that’s easier to handle than sails.” 

“By glory! I must be gettin’ old,” cried the 
captain. “Say, Pern, what sort of a’ ice pilot are you 
that you didn’t think of that?” 

“How in tarnation’d I think o’ thet there contrap¬ 
tion?” demanded the old whaleman. “Fust time I 
ever wuz shipmates long o’ one.” 

In a few minutes the motor’s exhaust was ringing 
loudly across the ice pack, and under half speed, 
the schooner was cautiously feeling her way through 
the zigzagging, winding lanes of water; bumping into 
floating cakes, grating against the solid masses on 
either side, but each moment getting farther and 
farther into the vast field and nearer to the, gray 
rocky coast. Presently, from the lookout came the 
shout of “Open water ahead!” An hour later the 
Narwhal was resting at anchor in a broad expanse of 
open sea with only isolated grounded bergs and 
drifting floes upon the surface. Seaward, the white 

122 


THE WALRUS HUNT 


barrier through which she had passed stretched to the 
horizon to north and south. 

Hardly had the schooner come to rest before the 
Eskimos were launching their kayaks, and in a few 
minutes were darting away in various directions. 

“Where are they going?” asked Tom as he and 
Jim watched the skin boats leave the vessel’s side. 

“Lookin’ for walrus,” replied the captain. “When 
they sight a herd they’ll come back and report and 
like as not get a few to bring along as samples.” 

“I’d love to be with them,” declared Jim. “I’m 
going to ask Unavik to take us in a kayak some day.” 

“Better start with a real boat,” advised the captain. 
“If you see a big bull walrus rearin’ up his head 
and glarin’ at you with them red eyes of his, and 
roarin’ and bellowin’ and heavin’ his tusks up and 
down, and rushin’ at you like he’s gone crazy, you’ll 
be mighty glad you’re in a whaleboat ’stead of a skin 
kayak.” 

“Whew, are they like that?” cried Tom. “They 
look so big and clumsy in the pictures and when 
they’re stuffed, that I didn’t suppose they could really 
do much harm.” 

“Wussedest critters I know,” declared Cap’n Pern, 
“and ye wouldn’t git me fer to hunt ’em in them there 
cockleshells o’ kayaks, not fer nothin’. With a good 

123 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


musket an’ a whaleboat ’tain’t so bad, but a bull 
walrus ain’t to be sneezed at, lemme tell ye!” 

“All the more excitement,” laughed Tom. “I’m 
just crazy to go after them!” 

“Guess ye mus’ be crazy to wanter,” muttered old 
Pern. “But long’s ye’re out fer to git adventure an’ 
own the consarned ol’ ship, there ain’t a mite o’ use 
my tellin’ ye not to.” 

Jim laughed. “You know perfectly well you 
wouldn’t let us go and neither would Captain Ed¬ 
wards, if there was any real danger,” he said. 

“There’s always danger on a whaler in the Arctic,” 
said the skipper, “but you two boys know how to 
shoot and ain’t reckless, and Kemp’s an old hand, 
and there ain’t any likelihood of your gettin’ hurt, in 
a good boat.” 

“But there’s that there cat-” began Pern. 

“Oh nonsense!” interrupted Tom." “If we go, 
we’re going to take that cat with us as a mascot.” 

“Waall, fools will rush in, ye knows,” muttered 
the old whaleman as he stumped aft. 

While waiting for the Eskimos to return with word 
as to the whereabouts of the walrus herd, the boats 
were lowered, the masts stepped, guns and other ap¬ 
pliances and weapons stowed, and all prepared in 
readiness for the hunt. At last, after several hours 

124 



THE WALRUS HUNT 


wait, the boys spied the kayaks returning. As they 
drew near, Tom and Jim saw that the two leading 
craft were towing some huge object. ' Grasping the 
glasses, Tom ran up the rigging. “They’ve found 
them!” he cried out an instant later. “They’re bring¬ 
ing in the ‘sample’ just as the captain said.” 

“How they can get a walrus and tow him in with 
those kyaks gets me,” declared Jim. 

“Trust those boys to do it though,” said Mr. Kemp. 
“Why, they even get big bowheads in kayaks. They 
can handle them canoes to beat all. I’ve seen 
’em flop clean over and come up a smilin’ t’other 
side.” 

Tom laughed. “You must think we’re greener 
than we are, to swallow that,” he declared. 

The second officer grinned. “All right. I’ll prove 
it,” he announced, and calling to a young Eskimo who 
stood near, he said something to him in the fellow’s 
own language. 

With a broad grin the Eskimo slipped over the 
schooner’s rail, settled himself in the tiny craft, 
pulled the string of the lacing to the circular open¬ 
ing about his body, and with a few strokes of his 
paddle drew away from the Narwhal, 

“Now watch him!” exclaimed Mr. Kemp. 

Glancing up at the watching boys, the Eskimo 

125 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


waved his hand, gave a sudden lurch to one side, and 
to the boys’ utter amazement, the kayak capsized. The 
next instant they could see only the smooth rounded 
bottom of the canoe. 

“Oh, he’ll be drowned!” cried Tom. “He’s laced 
in and can’t-” 

Before he could finish the sentence, the kayak had 
rotated, and scarcely believing their eyes, the boys 
saw the craft bob right side up with its swarthy occu¬ 
pant still grinning. 

“Well, that is a stunt!” cried Jim. 

“Yes, I take it all back,” said Tom. “I’ll believe 
any yam you tell us after that.” 

Over and over again the Eskimo performed the 
feat for the boys’ benefit, and then, the walrus hunters 
approaching, he darted off and joined them. 

As the kayaks came alongside, the boys looked with 
wonder at the enormous creature they had in tow—a 
huge bull walrus, partly supported by air-filled skin 
floats, and with gleaming white tusks nearly two feet 
in length. 

Swarming on to the schooner, the Eskimos all began 
chattering at once in a mixture of broken English, 
Danish, and their own tongue, until Captain Edwards 
threw up his hands in despair. “Here, Mr. Kemp,” 
he called, “come and get this. I can savvy a bit o’ 

126 



THE WALRUS HUNT 


the lingo, but this is too much for me. They’re worse 
nor a flock o’ poll-parrots!” 

The second officer pushed his way through the 
group, uttered a few sharp words in the Eskimos’ 
dialect, and instantly all ceased talking. Then, turn¬ 
ing to a man who appeared to be a leader, he asked 
him a question. Rapidly and with sparkling eyes the 
fellow replied, and Mr. Kemp turned to the skipper. 
“Says there’s a whoppin’ big herd of walrus over to 
Lewis’ Inlet,” he announced. “ ’Cordin’ to him, 
must be pretty nigh two hundred of the critters. 
Leastwise, he says ‘twenty pair of hands of ’em’ and 
that’s all the same as two hundred. Says they’re 
well up on land and easy to cut off from water. 
They picked the bull up outside on a cake of 
ice. 

“All right,” replied the captain. “Man the boats 
and get started. Guess you’ll need pretty near all 
hands. Swanson’s been after walrus afore, he tells 
me, and I guess Pern and Mike and two or three of the 
men can take care of the ship. I’ll go along in one 
boat, you take another, Swanson can take the third 
and—^hmm, Mr. Chester, you’re to take the fourth 
boat!” 

For a moment Tom did not realize that the captain 

was addressing him, and then, as it dawned upon him, 

127 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

‘‘Wha—what’s that?” he stammered. “You don’t 
mean-” 

“That you’re in charge of the port after-boat,” in¬ 
terrupted the skipper with a twinkle in his eye. “You 
can take Mr. Lathrop as mate if you wish. Might as 
well learn how to handle a boat now as ever.” 

“Gee Whitaker!” exclaimed the dazed boy as he 
and Jim dashed to their cabin for their rifles. “I’m 
as nervous as a cat! Of course I can steer the boat— 
with the rudder and under sail; but I don’t know what 
to do when we get to the walrus.” 

“Oh, just do like the others do,” advised Jim. 
“Gosh, I’d like to have your chance! Say, you’ll be 
a regular boat steerer next! Besides, Captain Ed¬ 
wards will probably tell you what to do when we get 
near.” 

But despite Jim’s encouraging words, Tom’s knees 
were shaky as he took his place in the boat assigned 
him, slipped the rudder in place, and sat waiting the 
captain’s order to cast off. 

“When you get near the herd, spread out,” direc¬ 
ted Captain Edwards, “and go in as near the same 
time as you can. Pick the biggest bulls and aim 
for the ear or neck close to the head. Take them 
that’s near the water first, and if one of ’em comes 

for you, keep off and shoot him. Don’t take no 

128 



THE WALRUS HUNT 

chances—a bull walrus can stave a boat’s easy as a 
egg shell.” 

A moment later the boats were cast off, sails were 
trimmed, and the little fleet went dancing across the 
calm sea, each boat towing several kayaks with their 
Eskimo occupants behind it. 

Nearer and nearer they approached the shore. The 
schooner was a mere speck in the distance, and the 
captain’s boat, guided by a wrinkled old Eskimo, 
swung more towards the south. Presently they 
passed a jutting, rocky cape, abput whose shores the 
drift ice was piled high, and entered a tiny bottle¬ 
shaped bay. And at the sight which greeted them, 
the boys exclaimed in wonder. 

Everywhere upon the shingle and the grounded 
cakes of ice were the bulky, dull-brown, clumsy-look- 
ing walrus. There were scores—^hundreds of the 
creatures. Giant bulls with enormous, wrinkled, 
warty-skinned necks and gleaming ivory tusks; 
smaller, light-colored cows, and little seal-like pups. 
The pups and cows were some distance from the 
water’s edge, the younger bulls were scattered in 
groups near by and along the shore. Resting on 
rocks or ice cakes with their tiny heads raised high, 
were the old veterans of a thousand fights, the giant, 

scarred, elephantine bulls. 

129 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

Instantly, as with one accord, sails were lowered, 
the kayaks were cast off and, under oars and paddles, 
the fleet of boats and canoes swept upon the herd. 
For a moment the bulls stared wonderingly at the 
unexpected visitors. Then a low, growling, barking 
roar echoed across the bay. The great creatures 
wheeled about to face the intruders and, shaking their 
tusked heads threateningly, prepared to defend the 
cows and their young. 

The next instant, rifles and muskets roared. The 
boys glimpsed several big bulls as they swayed and 
sank lifeless. They heard the shouts of the excited 
men, the shriller cries of the Eskimos, and then for¬ 
got all else as their boat approached a gigantic bull 
walrus who had dragged himself to the very verge of 
an ice cake, and was on the point of diving into the 
sea. Taking careful aim, Jim fired; but at the very 
instant he pulled the trigger, the boat lurched, his 
rifle wavered, and the bull with a roar plunged with 
a tremendous splash into the water. 

‘‘Gosh, I missed!” cried Jim. 

“There’s another!” screamed Tom. “Get him!” 

Once more Jim’s rifle crashed out and a smaller 
bull sagged like an empty sack upon the shingle. 

“Hurrah!” cried Tom, and then his glad shout 
died on his lips and he screamed a warning filled with 

130 


THE WALRUS HUNT 


terror. Within two feet of the boat—so close he 
could have touched it with his outstretched hand— 
a great, ferocious-looking head had burst from the 
water, the tiny, wicked eyes gleaming like those of an 
enraged elephant, the stiff, horny whiskers bristling, 
the two-foot yellow tusks dripping blood from a deep 
gash across the forehead where Jim’s bullet had cut 
its way. 

Wounded, mad with fury, the walrus reared its 
massive neck above the water and hurled itself at 
the boat. Frantically Tom yelled. The' men seized 
the oars and struggled desperately to swing the boat. 
Jim hastily reloaded and strove to shoot. But the 
boat was swaying and tipping to the men’s efforts and 
Jim could not aim. Almost before they realized 
their peril, the boys saw the maddened creature’s head 
raised above the edge of the boat. With a tremen¬ 
dous blow, the long tusks came crashing down, splin¬ 
tering the thwart, breaking the stout oak rail and bear¬ 
ing the boat down to the water’s edge. 

Instantly the men threw themselves to the opposite 
side of the craft. With oars, clubs and whatever 
they could grasp they rained a shower of blows upon 
the animal’s head, but they might as well have struck 
at a helmet of steel. With blood pouring from the 
wounds, but not affected by them in the least, the bull 

131 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


walrus lashed the water into a maelstrom of froth, 
wrenched his head back and forth, bellowed with 
rage, and swung the heavy thirty-foot boat from side 
to side and up and down as though it were a thing of 
paper. Excited, rattled, terror-stricken, Tom was 
paralyzed with fear, and neither he nor any of his 
men realized that their antagonist was striving with 
might and main to tear free his tusks wedged in 
the splintered wood; that, with his head thus held as 
in a trap, he could not lift himself high enough to 
withdraw his tusks, and that he was in reality almost 
as terrorized as the occupants of the boat. Owing 
to some mistake, none of the old hands were in Tom’s 
boat. Not a member of his crew had ever before 
seen a live walrus, much less an infuriated wounded 
one. They were so thoroughly frightened by the 
creature’s sudden and savage onslaught, that they 
completely lost their heads. 

Then, suddenly and with a wild shout, one-eyed 
Ned leaped forward, seized a boat spade and, xyelling 
like a fiend and holding the weapon as though it 
were a bayonet, he plunged the keen-edged spade 
time after time into the thick, wrinkled neck of 
the walrus. The sea turned crimson, the walrus 
lashed the water into scarlet foam. Gradually 
his struggles ceased, his eyes closed, and he lay 

132 


THE WALRUS HUNT 


dead, with his tusks still locked over the boat’s rail. 

But the danger was not over. The inert, heavy 
body tipped the craft until every wave lapped over 
the side, and while several men struggled and heaved 
and tugged to lift the creature’s head free, the others 
bailed for their lives, but seemingly to no purpose. 
Not only was the buoyancy of the boat pressing up¬ 
wards against the weight of the walrus, but the tusks 
were driven so firmly through the thwart that they 
were locked as though in a vise. Each second it 
seemed as if the boat would fill and all would be 
struggling in the icy water. 

Their shouts and cries had attracted the attention 
of the other boats and Swanson, who was nearest, 
had come racing to Tom’s aid. Before his boat was 
alongside, the battle was over, however, and seeing the 
trouble, the cooper and several of his men leaped into 
Tom’s boat and with their weight on the upper side, 
the water ceased to come in. Then Tom, suddenly 
remembering his responsibility, recovered his scat¬ 
tered wits. ‘‘Here!” he shouted. “Get the handle 
of an oar under his head and pry him loose!” But 
even with the stout handle of the heavy ash oar as a 
lever, the walrus’ head could not be budged. 

“Get the hatchet and cut away the thwart!” ordered 
Tom. As the keen-edged little ax cut through the 

133 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


splintered wood, the men heaved up on the oar, and 
with a splash the animal’s head slipped over the rail 
into the sea. 

Swanson stood up, pulled at his huge mustache, 
drew his pipe from his pocket and commenced to fill 
it with a blunt, blackened forefinger. “Ay tank you 
bane have close shave,” he remarked, as he glanced 
about. “By yiminy, you bane pretty near cut das 
fellow head off.” 

“I’ll say we had a close shave!” exclaimed Tom. 
“And if it hadn’t been for Ned we’d all have been . 
drowned or killed. Gee, I’d have hated to be over¬ 
board with that beast. Ned was the only one who 
kept his head.” 

The big Swede nodded approvingly, squinted his 
pale blue eyes and turned his gaze curiously on the 
ex-soldier. 

“Ay tank mebbe das glass eye he got more better 
as two some fellers got. He bane gude fellow, Ned,” 
he declared gravely. 

“Aw, forget it!” exclaimed the one-eyed veteran 
flushing. “I didn’t do nothin’. The bloomin’ beast’s 
face was so darned like that of a Hun what stuck his 
ugly mug into my dugout over there, that I plumb 
forgot myself an’ went at him with a bay’net same’s 
if he was a Heinie.” 


134 


j 


THE WALRUS HUNT 


‘‘Well, if that was a sample of the way you went 
after the Germans, Fm sorry for them!” laughed Tom. 

“Veil, Ay tank Ay bane goin’ back,” remarked 
Swanson as he scrambled into his own boat. “Yum- 
pin yiminy! Das bane vun big bull you get!” 

Now that the excitement was over, the boys glanced 
about. No more walruses were to be seen ashore. 
The rocks and ice were deserted save for a half dozen 
dead bulls and a couple of badly wounded ones. A 
few cows could be seen swimming some distance 
away. The other boats’ crews were busy working at 
the kill., The Eskimos, however, were paddling fu¬ 
riously about and the interested boys saw the forward 
man in the nearest kayak lunge forward with his har¬ 
poon as a bull walrus broke water. 

“Golly, if that fellow goes for ’em they’ll be sunk!” 
exclaimed Jim. 

But the Eskimos gave the stricken and angry crea¬ 
ture no chance. As with a snort of rage he broke 
the surface and charged the kayak, the tiny craft 
whirled as on a pivot, dodged the oncoming creature 
and, as it passed by him, the Eskimo in the bow 
leaned over and drove a long lance into the 
animal’s neck. Over and over again the maneuver 
was repeated. Fascinated the boys and men watched 
this battle between the wounded, infuriated bull wal- 

135 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


rus and the frail craft of skin, with its Eskimo occu¬ 
pants armed with their primitive weapons. But, as 
always, brains and intelligence triumphed, and pres¬ 
ently the grinning natives were paddling toward 
shore, towing the carcass of their victim behind them. 


CHAPTER X 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 

M any days had passed since the hoys’ first 
walrus hunt. They had learned much hy 
experience and had killed many of the 
enormous ugly creatures without mishap. They had 
retained the skull of that first huge hull as a trophy, 
and no walrus taken since had approached it in the 
length and heauty of the perfectly matched and 
pointed tusks. Tom, to his unspeakable delight, had 
been made boat steerer and had been assigned to the 
same craft in which they had battled with the walrus 
and Jim, not to be outdone, had bent every energy to 
acquiring skill in using the harpoon and lance. 

In this Cap’n Pern had played an important part, 
and finding the regular irons far too heavy for the 
boy, he had had the blacksmith fashion some special 
lighter weapons for Jim’s private use. Jim was as 
proud as a peacock of these and kept them, sharpened 
to a razor edge and carefully sheathed and greased, in 
the bow of the boat. And when, one day, two white 

137 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


whales were sighted and Tom’s boat drew into one of 
the creatures, and Jim had his first chance to test his 
skill, he was trembling with excitement. 

Standing in the bow, bracing himself in the knee 
cleat, the boy raised his iron, and as the huge beluga 
broke water close by, he heaved the iron with all 
his strength. A roar of approval came booming 
across the waves from Cap’n Pern as the weapon 
struck fair and buried itself in the white whale’s back. 
All by themselves the boys and their crew played the 
stricken creature and by Tom’s orders the men 
worked as the line was hauled or slackened. When 
at last the white whale lay tired upon the sea, the boat 
drew close, and Jim killed the beluga with a single 
stroke of his lance. Then indeed, the two boys felt 
that they were full-fledged whalemen and they longed 
for the time when they could go on a real whale, a 
bowhead, and fight the thrilling, exciting, dangerous 
battle with a monster of the deep and bring him “fin 
up” unaided. 

But no bowheads were seen, and the boys were 
forced to content themselves with lesser game. They 
had learned to handle the kayaks, and under Unavik’s 
tutelage they had become quite expert with the tick¬ 
lish skin-covered craft. Often they had paddled 
ashore and, armed with rifle and shotgun, had gone 

138 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


hunting in the rocky hills or over the tundra, but they 
had seen neither bear, musk ox, reindeer, or other 
large game. But they invariably returned with full 
bags, for ducks, plover, geese and swan, as well as 
the big Arctic hares, were everywhere, and those on 
the Narwhal never suffered for lack of fresh meat. 
Once too, Jim had spied a grayish shape skulking 
along a hollow several hundred yards away and tak¬ 
ing careful aim had brpught it down at his first 
shot. 

“Gee, I guess it’s some Eskimo’s dog!” he ex¬ 
claimed when the two boys reached the creature and 
saw a gaunt, pale, grayish yellow, doglike animal 
lying among the rocks and sparse grass. 

“Well it’s got a good hide an)rway,” said Tom. 
“We’ll skin it and take it along. It’ll make a nice 
rug when we get home.” 

But when, on reaching the schooner, they exhibited 
the skin, and Mr. Kemp told them they had killed 
a huge wolf, the boys fairly gasped with astonishrnent 
and then danced and yelled with delight. 

Another time, Tom had killed a beautiful blue fox 
as the creature raced away from a half-devoured 
young Canada goose, and in a pen on the forward 
deck, they had a miniature menagerie of young ducks, 

geese, swans, gulls, and other birds. 

139 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


It was now late summer and the young birds of the 
year were able to take care of themselves, but when 
the boys had first gone ashore on their hunts, ducks, 
geese, and other wild fowl were nesting by thousands 
in every hollow and swale. 

It was on their first trip that Jim had an amusing 
experience, and for months afterwards Tom and the 
ship’s ofiicers never ceased teasing him about it. The 
two boys were strolling across a little vale, a spot 
carpeted with deep reindeer moss and stunted bushes, 
when, from almost under Jim’s feet, a duck fluttered 
away apparently unable to take wing. Leaping for¬ 
ward to grasp it Jim’s foot tripped and he plunged 
headlong into the bushes. There was a crunching 
<5rash beneath him and, as he regained his feet, Tom 
fairly doubled up with uncontrollable laughter. 
From chest to waist Jim was drenched with a sticky 
yellow mass dotted with broken and crushed bluish 
egg shells. He had fallen squarely upon the duck’s 
nest! 

“Oh you are a sight!” choked Tom. “Gosh, you 
certainly did find that nest, Jim!” 

Jim looked ruefully at the dripping mess and with¬ 
out a smile exclaimed: “Gee, I like eggs, but I 
vdon’t like ’em scrambled that way!” 

The story was too good to keep, and whenever eggs 

140 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


were served thereafter some one would invariably ask 
Jim if he’d have his scrambled. 

At last the signs of approaching autumn warned 
Captain Edwards that they must leave the shores of 
Baffin Island and speed southward to Hudson Straits 
and winter quarters in Hudson Bay. Long strings of 
swans and great V-shaped flocks of geese passed daily 
across the sky, headed south. The vast rafts of ducks 
became uneasy. The Old Squaws whistled queru¬ 
lously, the eiders swam restlessly about, buffle heads 
and teal winged swiftly back and forth, and the black¬ 
heads darkened the sky with their veering, ever-turn¬ 
ing flocks. The plover lost their black waistcoats 
and took on silvery white ones; the snow bunting be¬ 
came gray and white; the ptarmigan were dotted with 
white feathers among their soft brown plumage and 
the Arctic hares grew paler and paler as they grad¬ 
ually assumed their winter coats to match the spot¬ 
less snow. The days grew shorter, the sun disap¬ 
peared below the horizon, and the Aurora glowed and 
flashed and scintillated in tongues and bands of 
lambent hues across the zenith. The wind was chill 
with the feel of frost and ice as it swept across the 
land which now showed hardly a tint of green or a 
speck of the scarlet, blue and yellow that had formerly 
decked the hillsides. 


141 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


So, with many casks of oils, great piles of walrus 
hides, bundles of sealskins, sacks stuffed full of eider 
feathers, and many hundred pounds of walrus ivory 
in her hold, the Narwhal picked and felt her way out 
through the leads among the ice pack and into the 
broad waters of Baffin Bay. To the strong and bit¬ 
ing wind her sails were spread, and across the short 
sharp waves with their spiteful hissing caps of foam, 
the schooner plunged towards Disko Bay. Here the 
Eskimos were landed laden with axes, powder and 
lead, cloth, brass, and gee-gaws as their wages. Then 
with yards braced sharp up and sheets close hauled, 
the Narwhal buried her blunt nose deep in the tum¬ 
bling foam, and with lee rail awash sped southward 
for the entrance to Hudson Straits. 

Twice bowheads were sighted and boats lowered; 
but to the boys’ chagrin and disappointment. Captain 
Edwards absolutely refused to let them go in on the 
giant creatures without an experienced man in charge, 
for the weather was squally, swirling flakes of snow 
fell now and then, the sea was rough and time was 
precious. 

At last, the entrance to the Straits was reached. 
Passing Resolution Island close to windward and with 
a fair wind, the Narwhal sped through. Slipping 
swiftly past Coats Island and through the narrow 

142 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


Fisher Strait with big Southampton Island on the 
north, she headed for Rowe’s Welcome, where Cap¬ 
tain Edwards planned to pass the long and dreary 
Arctic winter. 

“Gosh!” exclaimed Tom as the boys gazed across 
the vast expanse of the bay. “This is like the ocean. 
I thought Hudson Bay was just like a big lake.” 

Captain Edwards chuckled. “Mighty big lake!” 
he laughed. “About six hundred miles wide and a 
thousand miles long—big enough to drop all New 
England into it and just make a little island about the 
size of Southampton yonder. And did you know 
we could go on sailing and come out over north’ard of 
Alaska—that is, if the ice’d let us?” 

“No, r never did,” admitted Tom. “I wish geog¬ 
raphies taught us all these things. We learn that 
Lake Superior is awfully big but they never say much 
about these out-of-the-way places.” 

“Well, Superior’s a pretty sizable pond,” de¬ 
clared the skipper. “But it’s just a puddle ’long- 
side this bay. Why, from James Bay to the north¬ 
’ard point of Melville Peninsula’s as far as acrost the 
Atlantic at the mouth of the St. Lawrence; and from 
Nottingham Island at the end of the Straits to the 
Seal River, t’other side of the bay, it’s as far as from 
New York to Chicago.” 


143 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“Whew, I guess I’ll have to remember that and tell 
the boys at home,” said Jim. “Are there whales in 
here?” 

“Whales!” exclaimed the skipper. “One of the 
best grounds I know. If this weather holds out we’ll 
get a heap of ile afore ice begins to make.” 

Cap’n Pern who stood near shook his head dole¬ 
fully. “Too consamed good fer to las’,” he declared. 
“Li’ble to come down a rip-snortin’ mos’ anny minnet. 
Storm breeder’s what I calls it. Yes, sir. Feels 
like summer now, but I’ll bet ye we ketch it afore we 
git to the Welcome.” 

It was, as the old whaleman said, “too good to last” 
—a soft, warm day with a blue sky, a calm sea barely 
ruffled by the light southerly wind, and altogether 
like an Indian Summer day in New England. But to 
the experienced eye of the old whaleman there were 
many signs that the weather would not last and that 
something was wrong. The ducks, that had been 
winging southward, huddled together, raised their 
heads uneasily and gabbled ceaselessly. The V- 
shaped flocks of geese were mere specks in the sky, 
and their hoarse honks came faintly through the air. 
The gulls uttered raucous cries and wheeled and 
screamed. Little knots of auks and guillemots kept 
rising from the waves, heading on rapidly moving 

144 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


wings for the craggy shores. The sun had a pale^. 
hazy appearance while about it was a huge ring of 
light, like the ghost of a rainbow. 

Lighter and lighter became the wind. It fell to 
a flat calm, the water was smooth as oil and the Nar¬ 
whal drifted idly. Then the boys noticed that the 
vast bulk of Southampton Island seemed to be fading 
away, the farther shores of the bay were becoming 
faint and blue. Almost before they realized what 
it meant, the air grew suddenly chill, a cold wind 
whipped against their faces and, like a gray blanket, 
the fog descended swiftly, unheralded, and wrapped 
schooner and bay in its dense gray folds. 

^‘Knowed sutthin’ wuz a-comin’ out o’ this,” de¬ 
clared Cap’n Pern. “Bust it all, why couldn’t she* 
’a’ held off ’til we got inter the Welcome?” 

“What on earth is this ‘Welcome’ you’re always 
speaking of?” asked Tom. 

“Shucks, ’course ye don’t know,” replied the old* 
whaleman. “Why, a Welcome’s a sort o’ harbor-bay 
like, where a ship kin put in an’ be snug an’ safe from 
ice jams an’ win’s.” 

“Well, it’s a good name for such places,” laughed 
Tom. “I suppose the first people who found them 
called them that because they were so welcome.” 

“Yep, I reckon so,” assented Pern. “But this here 

145 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Wasted fog ain’t welcome, an’ like as not it’ll come 
on cold and blow harder’n blazes fer a week arter 
it lifts. I knowed that there cat’d play the everlastin’ 
fumdiddles with us.” 

The fog was now so dense that only a few feet of 
the deck and bulwarks were visible about the spot 
where one stood. The water although so near was 
completely hidden and looking down into the green¬ 
ish gray vapor, the ship seemed floating in air. From 
every side came the whimpering cries of gulls, the 
querulous chatter of ducks, the honk of geese, and 
the shrill notes of other birds. Presently Unavik 
loomed silently close to the boys and leaning upon 
the rail peered into the fog. 

“H’lo!” he greeted the two. “Plenty fog, me say. 
Me t’ink Ukla bus’ dis day.” 

“What are you talking about?” queried Jim. 
“What’s ‘Ukla,’ and what do you mean by its ‘bust¬ 
ing?’ ” 

The Eskimo grinned. “Gimme t’bac, me say 
you,” he replied. 

So accustomed had the boys become to Unavik’s 
inevitable requests for tobacco, that they always car¬ 
ried a plug or two in their pockets, and so, at the 
Eskimo’s request, Jim handed him the coveted weed. 

“Reckon he’s goin’ to spin a Eskimo yarn,” re- 

146 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


marked Mr. Kemp, who stepped like a phantom from 
the surrounding mist. “These boys is full of stories 
—^have one to account for blamed near everything. 
Some of ’em mighty good, too.” 

Unavik grinned, tore a huge mouthful of tobacco 
from the plug with his strong white teeth and, having 
masticated it for a moment, began to speak. It was 
not difficult for the hoys to understand him, for they 
had become familiar with his bizarre English. They 
listened intently to his tale which, without Unavik’s 
dialect, was as follows: 

“Many, many winters ago,” commenced the Eski¬ 
mo, “there was one great white bear named Ukla. 
He and his wife lived many days’ travel towards the 
west in a great skin house on a rocky plain, and all 
about the house were the skulls of men and women, 
for Ukla and his wife ate people’s flesh, and every 
night he traveled across the land to the Eskimo vil¬ 
lages. Then he would kill any one he found outside 
the huts, and if he could not do this, he would steal 
the bodies of the dead and fastening a thong about 
their feet, would drag them to his home. 

“Sometimes he was seen by the Eskimos, but of- 
tener the people saw only his giant footmarks in the 
snow, or found the graves opened and the dead gone. 
For many years old Ukla did this, and although the 

147 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

Eskimos held medicine feasts and asked the Great 
Spirit to help them, no help came. 

‘‘Many times also the people lay in wait and tried 
to kill Ukla, the giant bear, with their spears and 
arrows, but Ukla was a great anticoot (magician) and 
the weapons fell from his shaggy skin bent or broken. 
Then one day a stranger came to the Eskimos—a 
tall fair man, and said: 

“ ‘Take heart, for I will destroy Ukla.’ 

“Then the Eskimos danced and beat their drums 
and were happy, and the stranger said to them: ‘To¬ 
morrow I will pretend to be dead, and you must wrap 
me in skins and bury me among the stones; and when 
Ukla comes let him take me away in peace.’ 

“Then the people were sad, but the stranger said: 
‘Weep not, for I will return and never again will 
Ukla rob the graves or kill the people.’ 

“So the Eskimos did as the stranger told them, and 
wrapping him in skins placed him among the stones 
and went to their homes, crying loudly as if he had 
died. In the night came the great bear who had 
heard the Eskimos’ wails across the hills, and seeing 
the body of the stranger, he fastened a thong about 
the man’s ankles and started for his home. But the 
man spread out his arms and grasped at stones and 
bushes, and although Ukla pulled and tugged he 

148 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


could not travel fast, and every few miles he had to 
stop and rest. Then as he looked at the man’s body 
lying quiet on the ground he would shake his head in 
wonder. 

“ ‘Ah,’ he would mutter to himself, ‘who would 
think such a small man would weigh so much; but 
he must be very fat and fine indeed! What a fine 
supper he will make!’ Then, thinking of the fine 
feast he would have, Ukla would start on again. At 
last, very tired, he reached his hut, and dragging the 
man inside, the bear pushed him into a corner, and 
too tired to eat he crawled into his sleeping bag, tell¬ 
ing his wife they would feast in the morning. 

“After a time the stranger opened his eyes to look 
about, but Ukla’s wife, who was trimming the lamp, 
saw him and cried out to her husband: ‘This man 
is not dead—he is looking about!’ 

“But Ukla was very weary and said sleepily: ‘Oh, 
man dead, man frozen stiff.’ 

“Then the man kept very still, and when the bear’s 
wife turned away, he seized Ukla’s knife, and leaping 
up, killed her. As she fell dead Ukla awoke, but 
the man, throwing down the knife, dashed out of the 
door and across the plain with the big bear at his 
heels, panting and growling and snapping his teeth. 

“At last, no matter how fast he ran, the man found 

149 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Ukla was getting nearer and nearer and would soon 
overtake him. But the man was a great anticoot, and 
as he ran he made a great hill rise between himself 
and Ukla. So as the bear climbed slowly up one 
side, the man raced swiftly down the other. But 
when Ukla reached the top he curled up in a ball 
and rolled so quickly down the hill that he almost 
caught the man. 

“Then the stranger made a big river flow between 
himself and the bear, and weary with running he 
seated himself on a stone to rest. When Ukla came 
to the river he roared and growled in anger and in a 
great voice called out: ‘How, 0 man did you cross 
the river?’ 

“And the man laughed and answered, ‘I drank my 
way across.’ 

“When Ukla heard this, he plunged into the water 
and drank and drank until at last he made a dry path 
across the river, and crawled slowly up the other 
bank towards the man. But his long hair was wet 
and heavy and his body was swollen with the water 
he had drunk, so that the man had no fear of him 
and taunted him. Then Ukla grew very angry and 
with growls like icebergs clashing in a storm he 
roared: ‘Ugh! even though I cannot overtake you, 
yet you shall not escape me!’ and giving himself a 

150 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


mighty shake he burst, and the water which he had 
swallowed flew in all directions and made a thick fog 
over the land. 

“Now the man was greatly troubled, for the hills 
and plains could not be seen and he was lost. But 
he skinned Ukla, and taking the shaggy hide in his 
hands, he waved it many times about his head. This 
made a great wind which drove away the fog and the 
man walked safely to the Eskimo village. Then 
there was great rejoicing and the men did not work 
or hunt for three days, and the women did not comb 
their hair for three days and three nights, but all 
danced and beat drums and feasted. 

“For many years the stranger dwelt among the peo¬ 
ple and taught them many things, and so that the 
ipeople would always remember him, he told them 
that Ukla’s spirit would roam the plains, and would 
burst from time to time, and that then, as the fog 
came, they must give offerings and hold medicine 
dances, and that then he would know they had not 
forgotten and would wave Ukla’s skin and drive away 
the fog.” 

“That is a good yarn!” cried Tom as Unavik ended. 
“And say, hurrah, the fog’s lifting!” 

Unavik grinned. “Man, he hear plenty drum. 
You no hear? Me say he please an’ wave um skin.” 

151 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


‘‘Gee, I do hear drums!” declared Tom. “From 
over to the west.” 

“Sure Mike!” exclaimed Unavik. “Me say all 
same. Fog go.” 

Tom laughed. “Do you believe that yam, Una¬ 
vik?” he asked. 

The Eskimo stared at Tom with a puzzled expres¬ 
sion. “Sure,” he declared, “me see hill, me see 
river, me see fog. All time fog come Eskimo make- 
urn plenty dance, plenty drum, fog go, all same now.” 

As if further argument was useless in the face of 
such evidence, Unavik waddled off towards the bows. 

Presently the water was rippling against the ves¬ 
sel’s sides. The fog had thinned until the entire 
schooner was visible from where the boys stood. In 
wisps and shreds the vapor was scudding by, while 
out of the west came a strong, cold wind. 

As the last of the fog swept by, there was a hoarse 
frightened bellow from forward. Quick sharp orders 
were roared out and the boys, racing to the lee side 
of the schooner, fairly gasped. Almost under the 
bows was a jagged reef of sharp black rocks! For 
a brief instant the boys stood petrified. The schooner 
seemed doomed. Before her sails could be trimmed, 
before she would have steerageway upon her she 

would be on the rocks. Each second she was drift- 

152 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


ing, slipping nearer to the reef. The boys listened 
with bated breath, expecting to hear the rending 
crash, the awful jar that would mean the Narwhal’s 
end. 

All about orders were flying thick and fast. Cap’n 
Pern was roaring from the break of the poop. Cap¬ 
tain Edwards had leaped to the wheel and was shout¬ 
ing commands. Mr. Kemp in the main shrouds was 
cursing the men for their slowness. Back and forth 
to braces, sheets and halyards the men were rushing 
and hauling in a vain effort to save the ship. Then, 
from under the boys’ feet came rapid pistol¬ 
like reports; above the cries of the men, drowning 
the creak and squeal of block and sheave, barked the 
exhaust of the motor; the Narwhal forged ahead, she 
swung slowly to her rudder and, with not five feet to 
spare, slid by the threatening reefs to safety. 

With blank faces boys and men gazed at one an¬ 
other. Who had saved the ship? It was not Mike, 
he was stumping hurriedly aft as puzzled as any one. 

‘‘B’ Saint Pathrick!” he cried. ‘‘ ’Tis a sphirit 
Oi’m thinkin’!” 

With the boys by his side he hurried through the 
cabin towards the tiny engine room where the motor 
was still throbbing steadily. 

“Glory be!” he exclaimed, as he caught sight of 

153 


UNAVIK SPINS A YARN 


the figure bending over the motor. “Glory be, ’tis 
thot dummy av a blacksmith!” 

“Gosh, it is!” cried Tom. “The deaf-and-dumb 
man!” 

“B’jabbers thin ’tis no dummy in his brains he 
do be, at thot!” roared Mike. “B’ the powers, ’tis 
lucky we do be, thot Oi tould him to be afther doin’ 
a bit o’ worruk on the injine.” 

The deaf mute straightened up and stared blankly 
at the three. Then, moving his fingers in an attempt 
to explain matters, he shut off the motor, picked up 
his kit of tools and walked forward. 

“Gee, I’d like to know how it happened,” declared 
Tom. “He couldn’t have heard the orders or excite¬ 
ment. I’m going to ask Swanson.” 

A broad grin overspread the big Swede’s features 
as, in response to Tom’s questions, he interrogated 
the deaf mute and watched the fellow’s fingers com¬ 
municating his reply. 

“He say he bane fix das machine an’ he bane want 
to try him out. Ay tank, by yiminy, it bane lucky 
he try him yust den.” 


CHAPTER XI 


THE BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 

I T was indeed a lucky thing for the Narwhal and 
all upon her that the deaf-mute had been tinker¬ 
ing with the motor and had started the machine 
at exactly the right instant. Scarcely had the schooner 
cleared the reef when, to the north, the bay was 
blotted from sight by a white wall, a roar like a cat¬ 
aract came booming across the water and sea birds 
flew screaming past with wings aslant. 

One glance Cap’n Pern gave and then, at the top 
of his leathern lungs, he bellowed orders fast and 
furiously. The men, yet at their posts, leaped to 
his bidding. Captain Edwards who was still at the 
wheel tugged desperately at the spokes. Mr. Kemp 
himself led the willing crew aloft and, working like 
demons, the men stripped the vessel of her lighter 
sails. And not an instant too soon. Before the 
first reef cringle was knotted in the foresail, the squall 
was upon them. With a maniacal shriek the gale 
tore through the rigging, the water dashed in bucket- 

155 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


fuls of icy spray across the decks, and at the sudden 
irresistible pressure the Narwhal heeled until half 
her decks were awash, and a raging blizzard blotted 
out sea and land. 

Farther and farther the staunch old schooner 
heeled to the wind. Clinging to shrouds, backstays, 
and rigging, the men and boys waited, expecting 
each second that the schooner would actually cap¬ 
size. The sleet beat upon them, stinging like needles, 
and the blinding snow swirled and eddied and piled 
in drifts upon the deck. 

Cap’n Pern’s mouth opened and shut. Mr. Kemp 
cupped his hands to his lips, but not a word could 
be heard above the terrific din of the howling wind, 
the rattle of hail, the roaring of the gale in the sails, 
the whipping of loose rigging, the creak and groans 
of straining spars and the lashing thunder of the 
rapidly rising seas. Then slowly, inch by inch, the 
Narwhal swung around. Gradually she righted, 
the water poured in cataracts from her scuppers and, 
shaking herself like an impatient horse, she leaped 
forward and tore madly through the foaming water 
towards the south. 

Onward she sped through the blizzard, before the 
howling gale. With jaws hard set and eyes strain¬ 
ing, the three men at the wheel panted and strained 

156 


THE ^BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 

and threw their weight upon the spokes in a mighty 
effort to hold her to her course. Forward, Mr. Kemp 
and two men huddled in the lee of the winch and 
peered ahead, striving to pierce the eddying, whirl¬ 
ing wall of white. The two boys, awed, frightened, 
and shivering, crouched beside the deck house, too 
fascinated, too thrilled to go below for warmer gar¬ 
ments. Twice great dim shapes loomed ahead. 
Each time the frenzied shout of the lookout came 
in time and the Narwhal sped past the bergs in safety. 
Again and again a thundering crash shook the 
schooner from stem to stern as her plunging bow 
sheared through floating cakes of ice. Once a dark 
mass of rocks loomed for an instant within a hun¬ 
dred yards and the next second was gone, swallowed 
up in the all-enveloping white. 

But luck was with those on the Narwhal, By a 
miracle she escaped the bergs; no large pan ice lay 
in her course; jagged reefs and rock-bound islets 
were safely passed, and an hour after she had first 
started on her mad rush before the gale, the squall 
ceased as suddenly as it had commenced. The wind 
dropped to a steady blow, the snow ceased to fall, 
blue sky showed overhead, and, ten minutes later, 
the decks were streaming with water and there was a 
steady downpour from aloft as the sun melted the 

157 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


tons of ice and snow that had accumulated during the 
brief but terrific blizzard. 

“Didn’t I tell ye it’d blow a rip-snorter?” exclaimed 
Cap’n Pern triumphantly, as, with sails once more 
spread, the Narwhal turned back on her course. 
“I knowed it,” he continued, “drat that there 
cat!” 

“B’gorra thin we’ll be afther havin’ foine luck fer 
the rist av the cruise,” declared Mike. “Shure, the 
poor puss is gone entoirely. Didn’t Oi see her with 
me own eyes—washed clane overboarrd whin the old 
schooner wuz afther thyrin’ for to do the lay-me- 
down-to-slape stunt back there.” 

“Oh, that’s too bad!” cried Tom. “Couldn’t you 
save her?” 

“Save her, is it!” exclaimed Mike. “Shure yez 
wuz there and ’tis well yez arre afther knowin’ ’twas 
a-savin’ av our own souls we wuz thinkin’ av—and 
diwil a bit av the cat’s.” 

“Derned ef I ain’t glad,” declared Pern. “Mebbe 
we’ll be gittin’ on a mite better now.” 

Mike grinned, winked an eye at the boys and, as 
he turned away, remarked, “Shure, ye ould croaker, 

Oi’d not be afther countin’ av me chickens afore 

\ 

they do be hatched, thin. ’Tis noine loives a cat 
does be afther havin’ and b’gorra by the same token 

158 


THE BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 


she’ll be a-comin’ back and be a-drowndin’ eight 
toimes yit, loike as not.” 

‘‘Shet up, ye dumb fool!” shouted the old whale¬ 
man. ‘‘We’re consarned well rid o’ her.” 

“Well, we’ve still four cats aboard,” Jim re¬ 
minded him teasingly. “And two of them are 
black.” 

Cap’n Pern glared at the boy and stumped off 
without another word. 

Slowly the Narwhal beat back to the northward. 
Two days later she entered Rowe’s Welcome and 
came to anchor in the sheltered bay within a short 
distance of the shore. Close to the spot, near the 
mouth of a river, were a score or more of Eskimo 
skin tents, and upon the shingle at the river’s mouth 
were drawn dozens of kayaks. Before the Narwhal’s 
chains roaring from the hawse holes had roused the 
echoes of the hills, the Eskimos were paddling to¬ 
wards the schooner. At their first glance the boys 
saw that here at last were the Eskimos they had 
always pictured. Clad in garments of skin and fur 
they came scrambling over the Narwhal’s rail, laugh¬ 
ing and grinning, copper-faced and slant-eyed, but 
far cleaner than those at Hebron or Disko, and with 
something about them which at once marked them 
as true primitive people untouched by civilization. 

159 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Their spears, harpoons, and arrows were tipped with 
ivory or bone, their faces were tattooed and their 
garments were highly decorated with beads and skin 
embroidery. 

Presently, from the waist of the ship, came roars 
of laughter and good-natured shouts. The boys, 
glancing up, saw a number of the crew leaning over 
the bulwarks while others were hurrying to join the 
group. 

‘‘What’n tarnation’s up now?” exclaimed Cap’n 
Pern as with the boys by his side he hurried forward. 

As they reached the crowd of men, Swanson 
straightened up from the rail over which he was 
leaning, took his pipe from his mouth and grinned 
under his big yellow mustache. With a humorous 
twinkle in his deep-set blue eyes he remarked, “Ay 
tank das cat bane come back.” 

As the old whaleman peered over the ship’s side, 
his eyes seemed about to pop from his head, his jaw 
dropped and he stared down at the kayaks below as 
if he had seen a ghost. Perched on the rounded 
skin deck of one of the canoes was the black cat! 

“Well, I’ll be everlastin’ly keelhauled!” ejacu¬ 
lated the old man and, as a roar of laughter rose from 
the men’s throats, he jammed his cap over his eyes 
and stumped aft. 


160 


THE BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 


But even the superstitious old whaleman could find 
nothing in the way of ill luck with which to blame 
the cat during the next few days. The Eskimos had 
quantities of walrus ivory, many fine skins and pelts 
and a goodly amount of whalebone on hand, and 
this was soon in the Narwhal’s hold while the natives 
were richer in calico, knives, iron, beads and matches 
than they had ever dreamed of being. 

Old Pern fairly beamed, and he rubbed his cal¬ 
loused hands gleefully as he saw the bales, packages, 
and bundles being stowed. “Purty nice little nest 
egg,” he chuckled. “Nigh two thousand dollars wuth 
o’ stuff I reckon. Swan, if this keeps on if we don’t 
go sailin’ inter New Bedford full up.” 

The boys were far more interested in the Eskimos 
and their village than in the skins and bone. They 
spent most of their time ashore, and with Mr. Kemp or 
Unavik as interpreters they learned much of the Es¬ 
kimos’ life and ways. They watched them fish in the 
river, made friends with the Eskimo boys, played with 
the roly-poly children, and spent hours in the tents 
watching the women as they chewed the hides to cure 
them and deftly fashioned the skins and furs into 
garments. 

“Gee, they use bone needles!” exclaimed Jim the 
first time he saw one of the women sewing a pair’ 

161 


THE BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 


of moccasins, ‘‘and thimbles made of raw hide and 
threads of sinew. Say, I wonder how they’d like 
real needles and thread.” 

The next time they went ashore they carried a sup¬ 
ply of needles, thread, thimbles and other sewing ma¬ 
terial and presented them to the women. Instantly the 
crude bone and rawhide utensils were cast aside and 
with beaming faces and ejaculations of delight, the 
women chattered and laughed as they experimented 
with the bright steel needles and shiny thimbles. As 
Tom said, they were like children with new toys and 
when in return—for even the least gift calls for a 
return present with the Eskimos—the women loaded 
the boys down with exquisitely worked moccasins, 
shirts of eider skins, blouse-like coats of fox and seal 
and robes of wolf and musk ox skins, the two lads 
were as pleased and excited as the women had been. 

“Say, we’ve got to learn to talk Eskimo,” declared 
Tom. “It’ll be lots more fun if we can talk to 
these people.” 

So, with Mr. Kemp’s help, the two boys set dili¬ 
gently to work to learn the Eskimos’ language and 
progressed rapidly. At first they found it a most dif¬ 
ficult task to pronounce the odd, clucking gutturals, 
but once they mastered the rudiments they got on 
famously. Within a short time they were able to 

162 


THE BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 


ask questions and understand the replies, and they 
had acquired quite a vocabulary of names and 
words. 

In the meantime, the crew of the ship had not been 
idle. The schooner had been stripped of sails, top¬ 
masts and yards were sent down, and preparations 
made for the coming winter. Daily the whale boats 
had been manned, and under their spritsails had gone 
dancing off across the bay in search of whales. 
Sometimes they were gone for several days and re¬ 
turned empty handed, but often they would come 
sailing back in a long line and towing the carcasses 
of one or two huge bowheads. Then every one 
worked like beavers, cutting in and boiling until 
the oil and bone were safely under hatches. 

At first the boys were crazy to go out on these 
hunts, but after one or two experiences, they decided 
there was far more of interest about the village and 
the shores, and devoted their time to hunting and 
paddling about the Welcome in a kayak which they 
had secured for themselves. 

Near the village there was little game, for the Es¬ 
kimos’ dogs roamed about, picking up every stray 
hare, ptarmigan, or other live thing, and so the boys 
went farther and farther afield on their excursions. 
The weather still held warm and pleasant, although 

163 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


the nights were cold and the little ponds and lakes 
between the hills were coated with ice. A few miles 
from the village the boys found game in abundance. 
One spot in particular was a favorite hunting ground 
—a little island in the broad estuary of the Wel¬ 
come where the Wager River emptied into the bay. 
Here there were always ducks in the coves, hares 
nibbled the stunted shrubs among the rocks, ptar¬ 
migan gathered in flocks on the southern sides of the 
hills, and twice the boys had secured seals which 
they had surprised basking on the shore. One of 
these was a magnificent silver seal; the other a half- 
grown hooded seal. The two handsome hides had 
been cured and made into garments by the boys’ 
Eskimo women friends. 

One day as the two boys were paddling their kayak 
around the island keeping a sharp lookout for game, 
Jim muttered a low exclamation and pointed towards 
the open water of the estuary. Tom peered intently 
as he ceased paddling, but for a moment could see 
nothing. Then, a few hundred yards away, some¬ 
thing broke the surface of the water and a tiny 
column of spray rose in the air. 

“Golly, it’s a whale!” cried Tom in subdued tones. 
“Say, let’s go for him!” 

“All right,” assented Jim, “it’s a little fellow 

164 


THE BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 


—a white whale, I guess. Say, won’t it be fine if 
we can get him all by ourselves?” 

Swinging the kayak, Tom drove his paddle into 
the water while Jim, laying aside his rifle, got out 
the harpoon and placed the lance ready for use. 

Apparently totally unaware that enemies were 
near, the creature remained almost stationary, now 
and then rolling lazily at the surface, sometimes 
raising its tail and bringing it down with a resound¬ 
ing splash as if in play, and constantly blowing. 
Rapidly the kayak approached. Jim grasped the har¬ 
poon firmly, saw that the line was clear and, shak¬ 
ing with excitement, he prepared to strike. Then, 
as the frail craft slipped within a dozen feet of the 
cetacean and Jim raised his arm, he realized that 
it was no white whale, but a strange, dull-colored, 
bluish creature with the skin covered with irregular 
blackish spots. But, whatever it was, the animal was 
within striking range and, summoning all his 
strength, Jim hurled the iron into the spotted an¬ 
imal’s back just as it rose above the surface to blow. 

The next instant a volcano seemed to have burst 
into eruption beneath the waves. The water boiled 
and frothed; a broad tail flashed and struck and 
swung to right and left, the kayak danced and ca¬ 
reened and bobbed upon the heaving surface. Then 

165 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


as Jim, frightened half out of his wits by the actions 
of the strange beast, was about to cut the line, the 
creature hurled itself forward and raced off like a 
cyclone. With a terrific jerk the kayak swung about, 
tipped until it almost capsized, and went tearing after 
the stricken animal. This was something the boys 
had not counted on. They had watched the Eskimos 
when they struck white whales and had intended to 
follow the native method of throwing overboard the 
float of skin. They had no intention of being towed 
in a cranky kayak by a maddened whale. But the 
line had kinked and had fouled. Jim, despite his 
frantic efforts, could not free it while it was under 
the terrific strain, and so it was a case of either being 
towed and trusting to luck to escape being capsized 
and drowned, or cutting the line. 

“Don’t cut it!” screamed Tom as he saw Jim raise 
his heavy hunting knife. “Wait till we see we’re 
in danger!” 

Breathing hard, thrilled with the excitement and 
yet filled with terror, Jim waited, knife in hand, while 
the whale sped this way. and that, sounded and 
milled; but to the boys’ surprise, never breached. 
But as the bouyant kayak continued right side up and 
nothing happened, the boys gained confidence and 
each time the creature slackened its pace Jim hauled 

166 


THE BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 


in line until the kayak was almost within striking dis¬ 
tance of the whale. Then, so suddenly that Tom 
could not check the kayak’s motion, the creature halted 
in its rush and the next instant dashed straight to¬ 
wards the canoe. 

Jim gave a terrified scream of warning. Tom dug 
his paddle into the water and as the kayak responded 
to the effort and swung slightly, the spotted creature 
dashed by within a foot of the craft. 

Jim, who had been expecting to kill the animal 
an instant before, still held the lance in his hand. 
As the cetacean rushed past him, he lunged forward 
and scarcely knowing what he did, plunged the 
weapon into the creature’s side. At the blow, the 
animal threw itself from the water, the lance was 
wrenched from Jim’s grip and the boys’ eyes grew 
wide in wonder. In the brief instant that the whale 
was out of water they had seen that a long, gleaming 
shaft projected from its head! 

But before they could utter a cry, before they real¬ 
ized what had happened, the big spotted body crashed 
back into the water, bloody froth spouted from its 
blow hole and with a convulsive flip of its tail 
it rolled over on its side against the kayak, stone 
dead. 

“Whew!” cried Jim, as he wiped the perspiration 

167 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


from his face and blinked his eyes. “We did catch 
a tartar that time!” 

“You bet we did!” agreed Tom heartily. “But 
we got him just the same. Gosh, but that was a 
dandy stroke of yours—getting him on the wing that 
way. And did you see his head—he’s been struck 
before and the lance or iron’s sticking in his nose. 
I wonder what the dickens he is anyway.” 

“Gee Christopher!” cried Jim who had been ex¬ 
amining their catch. “That’s not a lance in his nose 
—it belongs there—it’s a sort of horn. Look, it’s 
like ivory and twisted.” 

“Hurrah!” shouted Tom. “I know what ’tis— 
we’ve killed the schooner’s namesake. It’s a 
narwhal!” 

“Golly, you’re right!” cried Jim. “Won’t Cap’n 
Pern and the others be surprised! But say—I’d 
never have dared touch him if I’d known. Re¬ 
member how Mr. Kemp told us about these fellows 
driving their tusks right through a whaleboat and 
sinking it?” 

“I’ll say I do,” replied Tom. “I know what 
they’ll say—Tools rush in,’ you know.” 

“Well, fools or not, we won,” declared Jim, 
“and this old fellow’s horn’ll make some trophy up 
in our room.” 


168 



THE BOYS CATCH A TARTAR 


Elated at their unexpected capture, the boys forgot 
all about their hunt and, fastening a line about the 
narwhal’s tail, they started to tow him to the schooner. 
It was slow, backbreaking work, but when at last 
they reached their vessel and showed their catch to 
those on board, they felt amply rewarded for their 
labors. 

“By the love av hiwin!” cried Mike, who was the 
first to see the dead creature. “Shure and ’tis a 
unicorn yez do be afther killin’!” 

“I’ll be swizzled!” exclaimed Cap’n Pern. “Ye 
everlastin’ young scallawags, what ye mean by a-goin’ 
in on one o’ them critters? Ye’re lucky he didn’t 
sink ye. Jes like ye though—fools allers-” 

“I know it!” laughed Tom. “I told Jimmy you’d 
say that. But we got him and didn’t get hurt, even 
if the cat did come back!” 

“Jes dumb luck,” declared the old whaleman. 
Then, as Captain Edwards appeared, he shouted, 
“Look a-here, didn’t I tell ye these here boys wuz 
born to be whalers? Jes take a squint ’longside 
an’ see what the young scallawags been a-doin’.” 

“I’ll be-” ejaculated the skipper. “Reckon 

you’re proud of yourselves. Whoppin’ big fellow, 
too. Give you a tussle, didn’t he?” 

“Oh, not so much,” replied Tom nonchalantly. 

169 




DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

“But lie had us scared. The line fouled and he 
towed us every which way and then went for us. 
And say, you ought to have seen Jim get him! 
Lanced him as he went scooting by the kayak full 
speed.” 

“Darned lucky he did!” declared Mr. Kemp who 
had joined the group. “If he hadn’t the blamed 
critter’d have turned and drove his horn through 
that kayak and through you too, like as not.” 

“Well, we didn’t know,” laughed Jim, “or we 
wouldn’t have tackled him. But I’m not sorry now. 
Just the same, we’ll know better next time. I’m 
not a bit anxious to catch another narwhal.” 

“I don’t know as we really did, this time,” said 
Tom. “Seems to me the narwhal caught us and we 
didn’t have much to say about it.” 

“H’lo!” exclaimed Unavik strolling up. “Ugh! 
me say bimeby you feller be big hunter. Gimme 
t’bac!” 


CHAPTER XII 


FROZEN IN 

O N the morning after their capture of the nar¬ 
whal, the boys came on deck to find 
the weather completely changed. Above 
stretched a dull gray sky, great flakes of snow were 
drifting down, the land was already hidden under a 
thin coat of white and, at the first touch of the biting 
wind, the two dodged back to their cabin to reappear 
clad from head to foot in their Eskimo garments. 

Mr. Kemp laughed heartily as he saw them. “All 
ready for the winter, eh?” he cried. “What you 
goin’ to wear when it’s really cold?” 

“You can’t say anything,” retorted Tom, “you’ve 
got on a sweater and a reefer and oilskins yourself.” 

“ ’Tis a bit sharp. I’ll admit,” replied the second 
officer. “Looks like summer’s about over. Them 
Eskimos know it. If this keeps up, they’ll be a-set- 
ting up their igloos to-morrow.” 

“Why, the water’s freezing!” exclaimed Jim who 

171 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

had peered over the schooner’s side. “Hurrah, 
we’ll be able to walk ashore now!” 

“Walk ashore!” exclaimed Mr. Kemp. “WTiy, 
bless you, if the weather keeps on as it oughta, you 
could run a train acrost the bay inside a week.” 

Already thin ice had formed on the surface of 
the water and, although each swell coming into the 
Welcome broke the newly formed ice with a cu¬ 
rious crackling sound, fresh ice formed almost as 
rapidly as it was destroyed, and the upended little 
cakes were congealing in a jagged, hummocky sur¬ 
face that bade fair to imprison the waves very soon 
and lock them fast for many months. 

The rigging was white with snow and a couple of 
inches of the soft feathery blanket lay on the decks. 
The crew, clad in oilskins and sweaters, with 
caps pulled over ears and mittens on hands, were 
busy hammering and pounding as they put the finish¬ 
ing touches to the long, shedlike structure that they 
had erected extending from the poop to the foremast. 
Ashore, the Eskimos were dragging their kayaks far 
from the water’s edge and were placing them upside 
down on racks of whale’s ribs. The women were 
piling stones upon the edges of their skin dwellings 
and the boys were yelling shrilly and cracking their 
long whips as they gathered the dogs together. 

172 


FROZEN IN 


Hourly the cold increased. The snowflakes be¬ 
came finer and fell faster and faster; the wind came 
in fitful gusts and whirled the snow into drifts. 
When the pale light faded soon after noon and the 
boys knew that the sun had set, land, sea, and ship 
were covered deep with snow. 

Day after day the storm continued. The Es¬ 
kimos’ tents were buried halfway to their peaked tops 
in the drifts; the rough plank house upon the schooner 
was like a huge snowbank, and even the tough and 
hardened old whalemen had donned suits of skins and 
furs. Then one day came a muffled hail through 
the blinding snow, and looking over the Narwhal’s 
side, the surprised boys saw two of the Eskimos 
standing upon the snow-covered ice beneath them. 

“Hurrah, they can walk on it!” cried Tom and, 
followed by Jim, he clambered over the schooner’s 
rails and leaped on to the ice. 

“Gee, we’re frozen in!” yelled Jim. “It’s really 
winter. Come on, let’s go and see what the Eskimos 
are doing.” 

“Look out, ye young scallawags,” roared Cap’n 
Pern. “Ye’ll git lost.” 

“No danger,” called back Tom. “We’ll get one 
of the Eskimos to go with us.” 

Turning, he spoke to the fur-clad men in their 

173 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


own tongue and accompanied by one of them, the 
two boys pushed their way through the snow towards 
shore. 

‘‘Oh, they’re building igloos!” exclaimed Jim as 
they came in sight of the Eskimos. “And on the ice 
too.” 

Interestedly the two boys watched the natives as 
they labored at their winter homes. With long- 
bladed snow knives carved from walrus tusks the 
’men cut the blocks of frozen snow and piled them 
in a circle, tier on tier, each a little smaller than the 
one preceding. Rapidly the low-domed huts grew 
and took on form and soon the first one was com¬ 
pleted. With yells of delight Tom and Jim crawled 
into the tunnel-like entrance and found themselves 
within the igloo. 

“Say, isn’t this jolly!” cried Tom. “Come on, 
Jim, let’s make one for ourselves. It’ll be great 
sport having an igloo with the Eskimos.” 

Enthusiastically the two set to work, borrowing 
snow knives from their Eskimo friends, but they 
soon found that building an igloo was an art and 
they joined heartily in the Eskimos’ merriment when 
tlie wall tumbled in and all their work came to 
nothing. They were not discouraged, and presently 
one of the Eskimo boys came to their aid. With his 

174 


FROZEN IN 


help the boys soon got the knack of the work and 
before it was time to return to the schooner for 
dinner their igloo was completed. 

The night was almost as bright as day with the 
Northern Lights reflected from the vast stretch of spot¬ 
less white. By midnight the storm was over; stars 
twinkled brilliantly in the deep purple sky, the little 
group of igloos rose above the flat, white plain of ice¬ 
like, snow-covered bee hives. The wind was so bit- 
ingly, intensely cold that the boys were glad indeed to 
seek shelter in the deck house with its cheery red-hot 
stove. 

Then followed days filled with constant novelty, 
interest, and delight for the two boys. They went 
with the Eskimos on hunts for seal, and learned to 
find the blow holes in the ice through which the crea¬ 
tures came up to breathe. With their snow knives 
they cut great rectangular slabs of frozen snow and 
placed them upright near the holes as windbreaks, 
and with rifles grasped in their fur-gloved hands, and 
warm as toast in their eider skin undergarments and 
sealskin costumes, they lay upon the surface of the 
frozen bay and watched the holes while the wind 
swept downward from the North Pole, and the ther¬ 
mometer dropped to many degrees below zero. Often 
their vi^il would gain them nothing. But many times 

175 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


a big hooded seal, a sheeny silversides, or a magnifi¬ 
cent harp seal would fall a victim to their rifles. 
Much of their time too they spent in their igloo which 
they had fitted up exactly like those of their Eskimo 
neighbors, with skins and furs covering the bench 
of ice around the sides, a soapstone lamp filled with 
whale oil, with a moss wick to give light and heat, 
and with their weapons and trophies scattered about. 
From one of the natives they had purchased a team 
of dogs. Unavik had made them a sledge, and after 
many trials, unending merriment, countless upsets, 
and getting hopelessly tangled, the two boys had 
learned to drive their huskies fairly well. There was 
nothing they loved better than to go sledding over the 
frozen snow, yelling at their dogs, cracking their 
long whips, and now and then leaping on to the vehicle 
and traveling like the wind through the frosty sting¬ 
ing air lit by the pale winter sun or the gorgeous 
Aurora. 

Much time also they spent in the Eskimos’ igloos 
and, their first sqeamishness at the dirt and filth of 
the people being overcome, they found them very 
pleasant and good company. Sometimes, as a bliz¬ 
zard howled outside, and the dogs cowered whimper¬ 
ing at the mouth of the entrance tunnel, the .Eskimos 
would while away the hours telling stories. Some of 

176 


FROZEN IN 


these were very quaint, others were humorous and 
still others were almost poems with their vivid de¬ 
scriptive phrases and beautiful sentiments. 

But the boys’ favorites were the folklore tales 
about the birds and animals they knew so well. 
Usually some chance remark or question of the boys 
would start the story and all would listen attentively 
while the gray-haired, wrinkled, old ananating 
(grandmother) would tell in story form why certain 
things were so. Once, for example^ Jim was exam¬ 
ining a reindeer skin and called Tom’s attention to 
the white rump and the stubby little tail. Amaluk, 
who was making a snow knife, glanced up. ‘Per¬ 
haps,” he said in the dialect the boys now understood 
perfectly, “Nepaluka will tell you how the reindeer 
lost their tails.” 

“Do,” begged Tom, “tell us the story, Ananat- 
mg. 

The old woman was busily mending a skin shirt, 
her near-sighted eyes close to her work, her clawlike 
fingers moving deftly as she plied the bone needle— 
for she alone of all the women still preferred the 
Eskimo needles to those of the white men. 

“Ai ai!” she exclaimed. “The clothes are mended 
and my eyes are weary and perchance it may be well 

to tell of Amook and the reindeer.” 

177 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Laying aside the carefully mended shirt she leaned 
back among the thick bearskins and began. 

“Many ages ago,” she said in her droning voice, 
“before the Eskimos first came to the land, all the 
reindeer were brown from head to foot and all wore 
bushy tails like the foxes. In those times lived a 
great anticoot (magician) named Amook and to him 
belonged all the animals and birds. And all the 
creatures roamed at will except the reindeer, for these 
Amook kept hidden in a great hole in the earth. 

“Every day Amook would come from the hole and, 
after pulling a big stone over the entrance to his 
home, he would travel far and wide caring for his 
creatures. In those days the birds and animals were 
all one color, and when winter came and snow fell 
upon the land their brown bodies were plain to be 
seen and the creatures saw one another afar, so it 
was easy indeed for the owls and hawks to see the 
ptarmigan and kill them, and for the foxes and 
wolves to see the hares and devour them. At last so 
many were killed that Amook grew afraid that his live 
things would all be destroyed, and he would be left 
without food to eat or furs to make his clothes. So, 
being a magician, he made many spells, until at last, 
by touching the fur of an animal or the feathers of a 
bird, he could change the brown to white. Then, 

178 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

when the winter came, Amook would go forth and 
call the birds and the beasts together, and as they came 
at his call, he would stroke them with his hands, and 
they would go forth white and spotless. But soon 
Amook was again troubled, for when spring came 
and the snow melted and the rocks and moss were 
bare, the white creatures were like spots of snow upon 
the brown land and fell easy prey to their enemies. 
Then from far and near the birds and beasts flocked 
to their master and begged him to make them brown 
once more. So Amook made another spell in his 
hole under the earth, and when he came forth and 
touched the birds and the beasts, behold! they were 
changed from white to brown as before. 

“So, as each winter came, Amook would change the 
brown creatures to white and when the winter had 
passed and the geese came to the northland, he would 
again change the white to brown. 

“But some of the creatures were wary and would 
not come to their master’s bidding and Amook had 
hard work to capture them. It was thus with the 
great bear for he loved his white coat that helped him 
to hide on the bergs and floes, and try as Amook 
might, he never caught him to change his coat to 
brown, and so the bear to this day is always white 
and changes not to brown in the spring. So too, the 

179 


TJEE? SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


■white owl in his white coat could perch motionless on 
a rock and all creatures would take him for a harm¬ 
less bit of ice and would approach so near that he 
could pounce upon them easily. Time and again 
Amook crept close to catch the owl, but never did he 
grasp him, although the tips of his fingers touched 
the owl’s feathers as he flew off and to this day you 
may see the round brown finger marks left by Amook 
on the feathers of the owl. The weasel too, timid 
and suspicious, but too cowardly to disobey his 
master, crept sneaking from the rocks and crouched 
snarling to the earth as Amook passed his hand over 
his back, and the tip of his tail, which was hidden in 
the rocks, is always black and his belly that was 
pressed upon the earth remains ever white. Many 
other things—the geese and ducks, the snipes and 
hawks—flew southward before Amook came forth to 
change their colors and so, throughout the year, their 
coats remain the same. But the hare and the fox ^ 
and the ptarmigan came always at Amook’s call and 
grew cunning and hid safely from their enemies. 

‘‘Through all this time the reindeer, deep in their 
hole, remained brown, for under the earth there was 
neither winter nor summer. One day as Amook came 
back to his hole the raven, flying by, saw him step out 

^ The Arctic Fox is the one referred to in this story. 

180 


FROZEN IN 


of sight. Always curious, the raven wondered what 
Amook had hidden in the earth and pondering on the 
matter he flew to his friend the fox. ‘Ai, ai!’ he ex¬ 
claimed. ‘Tell me, 0 brother, what your master 
keeps in his home beneath the earth. You whom 
he londles and strokes to white or brown must 
know.’ 

“But the fox knew not and said so to the raven. 
This made the black bird more curious yet and he 
asked, ‘Why have you never found out? Have you 
never wondered, 0 brother, where this Amook gets his 
power to turn brown to white and white to brown? 
Think you how fine it would be to know the secret of 
his power. With it in thy paws thou couldst change 
color at will and like the owl pose as a bit of ice in 
summer or like a bare rock in winter. Truly, 0 little 
friend, you would find hunting easy.’ 

“Now the fox was a born thief and most cunning, 
and the words of the raven set him thinking. At last 
he spoke. ‘With thy help, black brother, I may find 
out. We will hide close to the hole of Amook and 
when he comes forth thou wilt fly high in the air and 
croak loudly, and when Amook looks up I will place 
a bit of rock beneath the cover of the hole so it will 
not close tightly. Then, when Amook has passed, 
we will enter his dwelling and steal the charm.’ 

181 


I 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


“So it came about that when Amook again went 
forth, the cunning fox lurked near, and, in the air 
above, the raven croaked hoarsely. Just as the two 
had planned, Amook looked up at the sound and the 
fox slyly slipped a bit of stone under the edge of the 
door to Amook’s house, and when he shoved the door 
in place a small opening was left which he did not 
see. 

“Then, when Amook had gone, the raven flew 
down, and with his friend the fox entered Amook’s 
home. After a long time they came to a great valley 
and there, feeding on rich green moss, was a great 
herd of reindeer all brown and with bushy tails. 
The fox and the raven were filled with wonder at 
this sight of the strange creatures with the branching 
horns, and the deer, who had never seen another liv¬ 
ing thing save Amook, were also filled with wonder, 
and with fear as well, at sight of the fox and his 
friend. 

“But the raven with his flattery and the fox with his 
cunning soon overcame the reindeer’s fears and talked 
with them. The deer knew nothing of Amook’s spell, 
for they had never been changed to white; and the 
fox and raven, finding the deer dull and stupid, began 
to tell them of the wonders of the outside world. At 
last the simple deer were interested, and longed to go 

182 


FROZEN IN 


forth and gladly followed the raven and the fox to the 
opening in the rocks. 

“One after the other they squeezed through and 
just as the last one had come forth Amook came home. 
When he saw that the deer had escaped, he rushed 
forward and with outstretched hands tried to push 
the deer back into the hole. But the deer, pleased 
at the outside world, struck at him with their feet 
and where Amook’s hands had touched their fore¬ 
heads broad white marks appeared, for Amook had 
been forth to turn all creatures white for the com¬ 
ing winter and the charm was still upon his hands. 

“Then Amook, running about, seized the deer by 
their tails and strove to pull them into the hole. 
The deer struggled and tugged and all at once their 
tails broke off in Amook’s hands and the magician, 
tumbling head over heels, rolled into the opening 
beneath the stone. 

“Then the deer pushed the bit of rock from beneath 
the stone door which fell into place and shut Amook 
up forever. But as the deer’s leader closed the 
rock door, one of the prongs of his antlers was caught 
between the stones and in drawing it free it was bent 
and twisted in front of the deer’s face. 

“And so, to this day, every reindeer has a twisted 
part to his horns before his face and a stubby tail, 

183 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

and where Amook grasped their tails and touched 
their rumps and pushed on their foreheads, the white 
patches still remain.” 

“Bully!” cried Tom, quite forgetting the old woman 
did not understand English, and then thanking her in 
her own tongue and telling her what a fine story it 
was, the boys started to leave. 

At that instant a tousled black head appeared in 
the entrance tunnel, a broad face grinned up, and 
Unavik crawled into the igloo. 

“HTo!” he exclaimed in his invariable greeting. 
“Me feller see plenty reindeer. Sure Mike, much 
plenty! Mebbe you like for shootum?” 

“Would we!” yelled the two boys in unison. 
“Come on, Unavik. You bet we’d like to shootum.” 

Outside the igloo, Unavik’s sledge stood waiting. 
Stopping only to get their guns the two boys piled on 
to the sledge, Unavik cracked his whip, shouted to the 
shaggy dogs and they were off. Qver the snow- 
clad land, through the still, intensely cold air they 
sped, swinging along frozen water courses, toiling 
up steep hills, dashing with dizzying speed down the 
slopes for mile after mile. Then, with a low com¬ 
mand, Unavik halted his team, and signaling to the 
boys for caution, he unhitched his dogs and led the 
way up a low knoll. Crouching on the snow beside 

184 


FROZEN IN 


the Eskimo, Tom and Jim peered over the ridge. 
Below was a small swale or valley and there, quietly 
feeding on the gray moss scraped free from snow 
with their broad hoofs, was a herd of fully fifty big 
reindeer. 

But they were far out of range; there was no 
cover by which the boys could stalk them, and it 
seemed as if their trip would be fruitless. As the 
boys, disappointed, drew back, Unavik was rapidly 
freeing his dogs from their rawhide harness, and 
with a low word of command he led them to the hill 
top and turned them loose. 

With low growls the animals leaped forward and 
tore down the slope towards the deer, yelping and 
barking, teeth bared and hair bristling. Instantly, 
at sight of the dogs, the reindeer gathered together 
in a close packed bunch, tails in center and threaten¬ 
ing antlers in a defensive ring. For a moment the 
dogs hesitated, and circled about, uttering short sav¬ 
age snarls, but knowing well the deadly peril that 
lurked in those sharp, lowered prongs and knife- 
edged hoofs. Then one big husky, more courageous 
than his fellows, sprang forward with a yelp, and the 
next second was tossed howling and bleeding for a 
dozen feet in the air. 

Unavik touched the boys’ arms and beckoned for 

185 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


them to follow. Down the hill he led them, across 
the end of the little valley and up a frozen mound of 
drifted snow. Intent on the dogs, the deer gave no 
heed to the fur clad figures sneaking across the snow, 
if indeed they saw them, and in a few moments the 
three were within a few hundred feet of the herd. 
Taking careful aim at the two largest deer, the boys 
fired. As the reports rang out across the frozen 
land, the reindeer threw up their heads and, forget¬ 
ting the dogs in their new terror, raced down the 
valley leaving two of their number dead upon the 
trampled snow. Now was the dogs’ chance, and 
yelping, snapping, barking, they raced after the deer, 
nipping at their heels, biting savagely at their flanks 
like the half-wolves they were. Now and then a 
deer would turn and strike viciously with his big 
hoofs at his tormentors and presently tlie herd again 
formed in a circle with lowered heads and menacing 
hoofs. Already they had forgotten the gun shots in 
the face of this greater peril of the wolfish dogs, and 
the boys once more raised their rifles to shoot. 

“We don’t need more than one more,” whispered 
Jim. “You kill him, Tom. Your gun’s better at 
that range.” 

Once more, as the report roared out, a deer fell and 
the herd, now thoroughly terrified, fled at top speed 

186 


FROZEN IN 


towards the east with the savage dogs at their heels. 
The dogs followed only a short distance. There in 
the valley were the fallen deer and the scent of blood 
and, snarling and baying, they came tearing back 
and dashed ravenously upon the body of the last deer 
killed. Before they could tear the skin or bury their 
sharp white teeth in the carcass, Unavik was among 
them, lashing out with his cruel whip, shouting shrill 
orders and striking cutting blows right and left. 
Growling sullenly, the dogs drew back, crouching, 
whimpering, cringing with tails between legs and ears 
laid back. Paying no heed to the threatening bared 
teeth and updrawn lips, the Eskimo stepped among 
them, rapidly secured the thongs about their necks 
together and then, with a word to the boys, drove 
his huskies over the knoll before him. 

In a few moments he was back with the sledge, and 
with the boys’ help the deer’s body was lifted upon 
it and lashed securely in place. But one deer was 
all the sled could carry, and Unavik told the boys 
they would have to carry the first deer to the village 
and return with the sledge and more dogs for the 
others. 

“But won’t something eat them while we’re gone?” 
asked Tom. 

“Sure Mike, mebbe,” replied the Eskimo who, 

187 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


proud of his fragmentary English, never spoke to 
the boys in his own tongue if he could avoid it. “Me 
say plenty wolf, plenty bear, mebbe eatum.” 

“Hurrah!” cried Jim as a sudden idea came to 
him. “Say, Tom, we’ll stay here and watch while 
Unavik goes to the village. Then if wolves or bears 
come we can shoot them.” 

“That’s a bully scheme,” agreed Tom. “Go ahead, 
Unavik, we’ll wait here. 

For a moment the Eskimo hesitated. He knew the 
boys had no idea as to where they were and he was re¬ 
sponsible for their safety. But the sky was clear, 
there was no danger of a blizzard and as long as they 
remained within sight of the dead deer there seemed 
no danger. 

“A’right,” he agreed presently. “No try walk. 
You feller make get los’ die plenty quick, me say; 
sure Mike!” 

“We’ll stay right here,” declared Tom. “No fear 
of our wandering off.” 

Satisfied that the boys were all ri^t, Unavik 
shouted to his dogs, cracked his whip, shoved on the 
handles of his sled to start it, and the next minute was 
speeding away towards the village. 


CHAPTER XIII 


UNAVIK TO THE RESCUE 


R eturning to the spot from which they had 
first shot the deer, the two boys hollowed 
a little cavity in the frozen snow within 
easy range of the dead reindeer and cuddled down 
cozily to await Unavik’s return or the appearance of 
any wild beast that might be attracted by the scent 
of blood. At first the land, stretching in undulating 
white hills to the horizon, seemed deserted, absolutely 
devoid of life, a desolate, barren waste. But presently 
the boys discovered that all about were living crea¬ 
tures. 

A subdued twitter drew their attention to a shel¬ 
tered spot under a projecting ledge. Peering intently 
at it, the boys saw a little flock of snow buntings and 
longspurs hopping about. On a low snow ridge a few 
rods away, a bit of the white surface moved, and a 
big Arctic hare rose from its hiding place and looked 
suspiciously about before leaping off. 

Suddenly there was a frightened cry from behind 

189 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


them. As the boys wheeled, a great broad-winged 
white gyrfalcon swooped like a meteor, struck deep 
into the snow and, with a cloud of dazzling, glistening 
crystals like diamond dust swirling from his power¬ 
ful wings, rose slowly with a ptarmigan grasped in 
his talons. 

Presently from far up in the blue sky came a 
hoarse raucous croak. Glancing up the boys saw two 
tiny black specks that rapidly increased in size as two 
great ravens came flapping downwards. Perching 
upon the antlers of the dead deer they eyed the car¬ 
cass suspiciously and, cocking their heads on one 
side, they peered in the boys’ direction as though 
they knew human beings were there—as no doubt 
they did. 

“Say, if those birds start in they’ll ruin the deer,” 
whispered Tom. 

“No, they won’t,” replied Jim. “The bodies must 
be frozen stiff by now. Don’t you remember Unavik 
told us ravens wait for some animal to tear the hide 
and meat and scatter bits of it about before they can 
eat?” 

“That’s so,” agreed Tom. “Hello, look there!” 

Close to the deer a shadow seemed to slip across 
the snow. The boys glanced up, expecting to see 

some big hawk or a snowy owl sailing above the 

190 



UNAVIK TO THE RESCUE 


valley. But the sky was unbroken by any bird. 
Curiously Tom and Jim stared through the narrow 
slits of their snow spectacles at the slowly moving, 
indistinct shadow. Closer and closer the thing drew 
to the dead deer. It seemed to have no definite out¬ 
line, to be merely a faint, bluish, shapeless haze 
against the snow—a ghostlike thing so unreal that 
the boys began to think the dazzling snow had affected 
their eyes. Then, with a sudden motion, the shadow 
sprang across the snow and a little ball of white ap¬ 
peared upon the dark surface of the deer’s body as if 
by magic. 

‘Tt’s a fox!” whispered Jim. “A white fox. I’m 
going to shoot him.” 

\ s 

“Aim for his head,” cautioned Tom in a whisper, 
“or you’ll spoil the skin.” 

Resting his rifle on the frozen ridge before him, 
Jim glanced through the sights. But the fox’s head 
was turned and he hesitated, waiting until he had a 
fair shot, for he knew that his soft-nosed bullet, 
striking the beautiful snowy body, would tear it to 
bits and ruin the pelt. Second after second passed 
and still the fox kept his head turned away from the 
boys as he gnawed ravenously at the edges of the 
bullet wound in the deer’s side, while the two ravens 
croaked at him in protest and cautiously hopped 

191 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


nearer and nearer, in the hopes of stealing a stray 
morsel from under the fluffy white creature’s nose. 

Tom chuckled softly. “There’s the raven asking 
brother fox where Amook keeps his magic,” he whis¬ 
pered. “I can almost imagine I can understand the 
black rascal’s words.’ 

But Jim did not reply. The fox had suddenly 
stiffened. His head was raised. His ears were 
pricked forward as if listening. The ravens flapped 
back to their perch on the antlers. Jim’s finger 
pressed against the trigger. If the fox raised his 
head an inch higher, he would send the bullet true 
between the ears. And then, just as the sights were 
lined fair upon the round white head, the fox leaped 
away. There was a sound of crunching snow from 
the hillside and Jim, glancing around, uttered a 
suppressed, startled exclamation. Within fifty feet 
of where the boys crouched, a huge white bear was 
moving towards the dead deer! 

“Gosh!” whispered Tom. “What luck!” 

“Let’s both shoot together,” whispered Jim, his 
voice trembling with excitement. “We can’t miss. 
Aim back of the fore shoulder and when I count 
three, fire.” 

Instantly both rifles were swung towards the big, 
yellowish white creature, and as for a moment he 

192 


UNAVIK TO THE RESCUE 


halted and his long neck moved back and forth, and 
his black nose sniffed the air, Jim counted; “One, 
two, three!” and the two guns roared out as one. 

With startled hoarse croaks the raven took wing. 
The huge shaggy bear reared on its hind legs, pawed 
frantically at the air, growled, snapped his long white 
teeth savagely, and then lurched forward and slid 
a dozen feet down the hillside. 

“Hurrah! we got him!” yelled Jim and leaping 
up the boys raced towards the fallen bear without 
stopping to reload their rifles. 

Like a miniature mountain of shaggy white fur he 
lay there, a broad red splotch upon his side. The 
two elated boys, whooping and yelling, hurried for¬ 
ward. They were within a dozen feet of the enor¬ 
mous creature when to their horror and amazement 
the bear scrambled to his feet and with open jaws 
and savage growls sprang at them. 

Uttering one wild yell of terror, the boys turned 
and fled up the hill for their lives. Behind them they 
could hear the low, menacing, awful growls and the 
sound of crunching snow. As they gained the sum¬ 
mit of the ridge they turned, threw up their rifles, 
took quick aim and pulled the triggers. 

But the hammers clicked harmlessly upon the empty 

shells. There was no time even to throw fresh car- 

193 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


tridges into the chambers of their rifles. Less than 
twenty feet separated them from the infuriated, 
wounded monster. Again, yelling, they took to their 
heels. Then, to Tom’s brain, came a sudden remem¬ 
brance, the story of Ukla and the fog which Unavik 
had told them, and in panting, gasping words he 
shouted to Jim: 

“Don’t run down hill! Run along the side and 
then up again!” 

Scarcely knowing why he did so, Jim obeyed, and 
winded, almost ready to drop, the boys again gained 
the summit of the ridge. Once more they glanced 
back. Tom’s ruse had worked. The bear, heavy and 
cumbersome, had been unable to check his own mo¬ 
mentum as he topped the ridge and had half slid, 
half rolled for fifty yards down the slippery slope. 
But he had now turned and was once more lumbering 
towards them. With shaking, trembling hands they 
reloaded their rifles, took aim at the bear’s breast 
and fired. 

Their shots went wild. Bits of fur flew from the 
bear’s back. He jerked his head to one side as a 
bullet nicked his cheek and then, with redoubled roars 
of rage and increased speed, he fairly hurled his 
great body up the slope. 

“Gee, I wish we were magicians!” gasped Tom. 

194 


UNAVIK TO THE RESCUE 


“Come on—run down the hill a way and then up 
again. It’s our only chance!” 

Once more the two exhausted boys raced down the 
hillside and then, quickly turning, ran to the top. 
But this time the bear did not follow. He was no 
fool and had learned a lesson. Galloping along the 
ridge top he was almost upon the boys before they 
knew it. As they glanced back and saw his drooling 
red mouth and great yellow fangs within arm’s reach 
they screamed in terror, dropped their rifles, and 
thinking only of escape, tore straight down the 
hill. 

A roar behind them caused them to look back. 
The bear was standing upon the hill, reared upon his 
haunches and striking terrific sweeping blows at 
the rifles. Maddened ‘with pain, all his savagery 
aroused, the creature was venting his anger on the 
guns and the boys, almost exhausted, drenched with 
perspiration, encumbered by their heavy fur gar¬ 
ments, won a breathing space by the reckless aban¬ 
donment of their weapons. 

“We mus—must hu—hurry!” panted Jim. “May 
—maybe if we—if we can keep up a wh—while 
longer he’ll get ex—exhausted from loss of blood. 
C—come on, Tom. Gosh, I w—wish Unavik would 
come!” 


195 




DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Before them rose the steeper hill bordering the 
valley to the west and up this the boys hurried as fast 
as their wearied limbs would permit. 

“Golly, wh—why isn’t there a ri—river he can 
drink up?” panted Tom whose sense of humor could 
not be downed even in the face of such danger. “Say, 
wouldn’t he ma—make a fog if he burst!” 

Barely had they gained the hill top when the 
bear, his fury spent upon the rifles, was once more 
sliding and slipping down the opposite hill and the 
boys knew that it was only a question of minutes 
before he would be upon them. Near by, a ledge 
of rock jutted above the snow with its steep sides 
sheathed in ice. The boys, too utterly exhausted to 
run, saw in this their only hope. 

“If we can get up there, perhaps he can’t reach 
us,” suggested Tom. “Come on, Jim. It’s our 
last chance.” 

“But we can’t get up,” objected Jim. 

“Yes, we can,” declared Tom as they hurried 
towards the rock. “I can climb up on your shoulders 
and then reach down and pull you up.” 

With their last strength, the boys gained the rock. 
Tom clambered on Jim’s shoulders, drew himself on to 
the flat summit and with a desperate effort reached 
down and drew his companion up beside him. 

196 


UNAVIK TO THE RESCUE 


And not an instant too soon. Before Jim’s feet 
were over the edge the bear had gained the base of 
the rock. He reared up, made a terrific swipe with 
his fore paws at Jim’s dangling feet, and the boy 
escaped death by an inch. Even as it was, one of the 
beast’s swordlike claws ripped through Jim’s moc¬ 
casin and he howled with terror. 

They were not yet safe. The bear, standing on 
his hind legs, could actually reach the edge of the 
rock’s summit and again and again he strove to 
draw himself up; growling horribly, cutting great 
grooves in the ice on the sides of the rock as he dug 
his hind claws into it. The boys huddled close and 
yelled each time one of the great, shaggy feet, with 
its three-inch claws, appeared over the edge of their 
refuge. Presently something of courage and con¬ 
fidence returned to them. Unless the bear found a 
grip, a crevice or a roughness on the rock for his 
hind feet, he could not reach them. Wounded as he 
was, his strength was unequal to the task of lifting 
his enormous weight by his front feet alone. Still, 
those fearful claws brought mortal terror to the boys 
each time they appeared. Then an idea came to 
Jim. Whipping out his heavy knife, he reached for- 
word and each time a paw appeared he rapped it 

and slashed at it with the heavy steel blade. 

197 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Roaring until the air trembled, the bear drew back 
his feet and hurled himself bodily at the rock. At 
his second onslaught the boys’ faces grew white, their 
hearts seemed to stop beating. The rock moved! 
There was not a question of it. Instead of a solid, 
upjutting ledge as they had thought, it was merely a 
big upstanding bowlder, a loose stone frozen to the 
hilltop. At any moment it might crash over and 
throw them, injured and helpless, into the grip of the 
bear! 

Sick with deadly fear, speechless, scarcely breath¬ 
ing, the boys cowered on their narrow refuge, while 
with each blow of the bear, the stone swayed and 
rocked. Each time the boys expected to feel it top¬ 
pling to crash down into the snow. 

Never in all their lives had such utter terror filled 
their hearts. They were absolutely at the bear’s 
mercy. The hope that his wounds might tell and that 
his strength would give out were groundless. He 
seemed as fresh, as strong and more maddened than 
ever. The boys felt that only their mangled bleeding 
bodies would remain to tell of their fate when Unavik 
arrived. It was awful to be killed this way—ripped 
and slashed and torn by the infuriated bear. Bit¬ 
terly the boys regretted having remained behind to 
guard the bodies of the slain deer. 

198 


UNAVIK TO THE RESCUE 


“I—I guess it’s all up with us,” stammered Tom, 
trying to choke back the lump in his throat. 

“Yes, I—I only hope we—we get stunned when we 
fall,” replied Jim, his voice breaking. “The—then 
we won’t suffer so much.” 

Scarcely had he spoken when the bear again threw 
himself at the rock. With a crackling of ice the 
bowlder gave and swayed perilously. The boys 
clutched wildly at the ice-filled crevices. They knew 
that one more such effort on the part of the bear 
would send the rock crashing over. 

And then a new light came into their eyes, their 
hearts beat faster. From beyond the next ridge had 
come the sound of yelping dogs, the shrill shout of an 
Eskimo. 

The bear, despite his rage, had heard it too. With 
lowered head and swaying neck he stood listening. 
The next instant the galloping dogs swung over the 
ridge. Behind them came the sledge with a fur-clad 
figure shouting and brandishing the long whip. At 
the top of their lungs the boys screamed, shouted and 
yelled. Forgetting their precarious position, they 
leaped to their feet and waved their arms. Unavik’s 
sharp eyes had taken in the situation at a glance. 
Midway in its mad career, he overturned the sledge 
and swung it sidewise. The dogs, suddenly arrested 

199 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


in their race, tumbled head over heels, and the next 
second, Unavik was among them, slashing through the 
thongs and traces and shouting commands. 

Already the scent of the bear had reached the dogs’ 
nostrils. With stiff hairs bristling on their shoul¬ 
ders they hurled themselves forward. Like a pack 
of great, tawny wolves they came plunging towards 
the bear. At their heels came Unavik, his old mus¬ 
ket in his hands. As the bear turned to face the snap¬ 
ping, snarling, savage ring of big dogs, the Eskimo 
approached within a dozen feet, raised his heavy 50- 
caliber Remington and fired at the bear’s broad chest. 

With a gurgling roar the great beast lurched for¬ 
ward, struck wildly with his paws at the dogs and 
sank lifeless on the snow. 

“Gee Christopher!” cried Tom, as the two boys 
scrambled from their perch. “It was lucky you came, 
.Unavik. Another minute and we’d have been killed.” 

The Eskimo grinned. “Sure Mike!” he replied. 
“How you feller likeum hunt bear?” 

“We didn’t,” declared Jim. “He hunted us. My, 
but isn’t he a whopper!” 

' “Mos’ big all same Ukla, me say,” agreed Unavik. 
“Why you no killum?” 

“That’s what gets me,” said Tom. “We hit him all 
right. Look, there back of the shoulder.” 

200 


UNAVIK TO THE RESCUE 


But when the boys stooped and examined the wound 
they knew instantly why the bear had not died from 
their shots and why he had not become exhausted 
from the wounds. Their bullets had struck the edge 
of the massive shoulder blade and had glanced, tear¬ 
ing a great strip of hide and flesh away, splintering 
the edge of the bone, but inflicting no mortal injury, 
and not even disabling the leg. No wonder the bear 
had been able to chase the boys, although the shock 
of the bullets had temporarily knocked him out. 

Hardly had the boys satisfied themselves of this 
when the second sledge arrived. The Eskimos gath¬ 
ered about, chattering and exclaiming. All agreed 
that it was the biggest bear they had ever seen. To 

carry the huge carcass to the village was impossible 

\ 

and so, as one of the men went with the boys to the 
dead reindeer, Unavik and the other Eskimo set to 
work to skin the bear. After having cut a haunch 
from the beast, and with its skin and the deer loaded 
on the sledge, the party started on their return to the 
village. 

Now that it was all over and their excitement had 
subsided, the two boys felt weak and shaky and found 
it impossible to trudge through the snow. For a while 
they gamely stuck it out, but at last they were obliged 
to give in. Throwing themselves upon the sleds they 

201 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


lay almost as helpless and motionless as the dead 
animals beside them. 

Great was the rejoicing in the village that night, 
for the death of a bear is always celebrated. The 
rest of the beast’s carcass had been brought in and the 
Eskimos gorged themselves on the meat. Through¬ 
out the night the drums throbbed, the Eskimos’ voices 
rose and fell in discordant chants and, grotesque in 
their fur garments, they danced and pranced while 
the dogs howled in unison. 

“I’ll bet this is when the men don’t work or the 
women comb their hair for three days,” laughed Tom 
as, fully recovered from their exciting afternoon, 
they watched the merrymaking. 

But there was a fly in the boys’ ointment, so to 
speak. When they had told their story to the cap¬ 
tain he had grown serious and had told the boys that 
hereafter they were not to go any distance from the 
village alone under any circumstances. 

“I’d feel nice going home and telling your folks a 
bear or a wolf had eaten you up, wouldn’t I?” said 
the skipper. “You may be owners, but I’m respon¬ 
sible for you, and hereafter you take one of the 
Eskimos and a pack of dogs with you if you stir from 
the village. I know you came through safely this 
time, but you might not be so lucky next time. And 

202 


UNAVIK TO THE RESCUE 


don’t you dare stay alone out there. If your Eskimo 
goes anywhere, you go too. Now, that’s final.” 

‘‘All right,” agreed the boys, “we’ll be careful.” 

While they knew the captain was looking after their 
safety, it galled the two boys to think that their sled 
trips must be chaperoned by a native and that they 
were being treated like “tenderfeet,” as Tom put it. 
But as they looked at the enormous shaggy skin— 
twelve feet from nose to tail—and thought how it 
would look upon the polished floor of the house in 
Fair Haven, all else was forgotten in their pride at 
having secured such a trophy, and their hearts beat 
more quickly as vivid memories of their narrow 
escape from such a terrible death came to them. 


CHAPTER XIV 


AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


A lthough the boys’ fathers had painted a 
picture of long and dreary months in the 
Arctic with the ship frozen in, and only the 
whalemen and Eskimos for company, the boys found 
it far from dull. 

To be sure there were many days when snowstorms 
raged and the wind howled, and no one stirred from 
the long house on the deck. But even then there were 
things to amuse and interest the boys. A number of 
the native Eskimos were usually there, as well as 
those from Hebron, and the two lots of tribesmen 
were never tired of holding competitions of skill or 
strength. Gathered in a circle about the contestants, 
the whalemen and the boys would clap and applaud, 
shout encouragement and roar with laughter as the 
stocky natives struggled and strained in friendly, 
good-natured contests. Often a prize of tobacco, 
knives, clothes, or hatchets would be offered to the 
winner. 

204 



AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


Many of the contests were wonderfully novel and 
amusing and sometimes the two hoys would try their 
hands at them, much to the merriment of the assem¬ 
bled men. 

One game which was a favorite with the Eskimos 
was a sort of tug of war. Kneeling on the deck with 
heads close together, the competitors would have their 
friends tie their necks together by a rope or thong, 
and then, at a signal, would strain and tug and heave, 
each trying his utmost to drag the other over a chalk 
line on the deck. Evidently there was a knack in it, 
aside from strength of neck muscles; for very often 
the smaller and weaker man would win. The boys 
after one or two trials decided this was too strenuous 
a contest. 

Another game consisted of two Eskimos locking 
arms and legs together while perched on a third man’s 
back, and then trying to see who could dismount the 
other. Hard bumps and thumps always resulted, 
but the men’s heads were well padded with their mops 
of coarse black hair, and they always rose grinning 
and as good-natured as ever. 

The greatest sport was to see the Eskimos attempt 
to box. The whalemen were always boxing, and 
after watching the white men for some time, the Es¬ 
kimos wanted to try their skill. At their antics as they 

205 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


struck blindly at each other, dodged blows, ki-yied 
and shouted, twisted and turned, and often fell sprawl¬ 
ing, the boys and the assembled whalemen roared 
until they almost choked. 

But the Eskimos were apt imitators, they had un¬ 
limited perseverance, and gradually several of them 
began to develop skill in the use of the gloves and be¬ 
fore long there were acknowledged champions among 
them. The sport-loving whalemen matched them up 
as lightweights, welterweights, and featherweights; 
for not a native could be found who, by any stretch 
of imagination, could be classed as a heavyweight. 
So interested did the crew become that several of the 
whalemen took to training their favorites; arguments 
over their respective merits grew heated, and the men 
bet recklessly on the results of the bouts. They even 
nicknamed the Eskimos, and Tom and Jim roared un¬ 
til their sides ached as Cap’n Pern would get excited 
and leaping up would pound his wooden leg on the 
deck and shout, “Wallop him, Dempsey! That’s a 
good one!” while Mike, whose favorite was a bull¬ 
necked, fat-faced, bow-legged man from Hebron whom 
he called Sullivan, would shout derogatory remarks 
about “Dempsey” and would dance wildly about the 
improvised ring, urging his man to the utmost. 

While such things served to pass the time in bad 

206 


AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


weather and at night, the boys found far more plea- 
sure with their dogs and their Eskimo friends ashore. 
Day after day they went hunting, always accompanied 
by Unavik or some other Eskimo. They were 
woefully disappointed in not finding musk oxen or 
another bear, but they often secured reindeer; and-the 
pile of fox, wolf and seal skins which they reserved 
for themselves increased rapidly. The crew, too, 
went hunting, each man accompanied by an Eskimo, 
and each week the Narwhal’s cargo increased in value 
by many hundreds of dollars. Very often also the 
men had better luck than the boys, and several fine 
bearskins were brought in which spurred the boys 
to still greater efforts and longer trips. At last they 
were rewarded. They had traveled much farther 
than they had ever been before, following the valley 
of the river, and had reached a district of low, sharp 
hills, narrow ravines and small, rock-strewn valleys. 
Suddenly Unavik, who was with them, halted his 
dogs, peered intently at the snow, and pointed to 
a trampled trail leading across the valley. 

“Musk ox!” he exclaimed. “Me say him feller 
near, Mebbe shootum.” 

“Gosh, do you think we can?” cried Tom. 

“Sure, Mike, mebbe,” replied the Eskimo as he 
unharnessed his dogs. 


207 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Cautioning the boys to be silent, Unavik crept to 
the top of the nearest ridge and peered about. No 
living thing was in sight. Then, with eyes on the 
tracks of the animals, he descended the ridge while 
the dogs, sniflEng and whimpering, strained at their 
thongs, and the boys, thrilled with excitement, fol¬ 
lowed at the Eskimo’s heels. Along the little de¬ 
file the trail led, over another ridge, through another 
valley, and up a third hill. ‘‘Him feller near,” 
declared Unavik, pointing to bare patches of rock 
and moss where the animals had scraped away the 
snow. 

Very cautiously the three crawled among the ice- 
covered bowlders up the hill. The boys could 
scarcely restrain a cry of delight as they peered be¬ 
tween the rocks and saw a dozen big, shaggy beasts 
pawing in the snow and nuzzling in the moss be¬ 
neath. 

Jim was about to raise his rifle, for the musk 
oxen were within easy range, when Unavik stopped 
him with a gesture and rapidly slipped the thongs 
that bound the dogs together. The next instant the 
huskies were bounding towards the surprised musk 
oxen who threw up their heads, armed with huge 
broad horns, snorted, and with one accord tore off 
up the valley. 


208 


AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


*‘Gee, now we’ve lost them!” exclaimed Tom in 
disgust. “Why didn’t you let us shoot, Unavik?” 

The Eskimo grinned but said nothing. Beckon¬ 
ing to the boys he turned and ran rapidly along the 
ridge in the direction the animals had gone. Pres¬ 
ently, to the boys’ ears, came the barks, yelps, and 
growls of the dogs. Rounding a rocky hillock they 
came in sight of the pack, nipping and snapping at 
the musk oxen who had formed in a close ring with 
lowered threatening horns towards their enemies. 

With their long, shaggy, black hair, their wild, 
reddened eyes and great recurved needle-pointed 
horns, the creatures looked very savage indeed and 
the dogs knew full well that death lurked in that ring 
of broad heads and sharp horns. These were no 
timid reindeer and, though the wolflike huskies now 
and then took chances and dashed at the snorting, 
stamping creatures before them, none dared approach 
too closely. 

Suddenly one of the oxen uttered a low bellow, 
plunged forward and, before the dogs could retreat, 
the wicked horns swung to right and left, and a 
howling husky was tossed high in air to fall dead 
and bleeding on the snow. 

“Golly, they’re some fighters!” exclaimed Jim in 

a low voice. “Come on, Tom, let’s shoot!” 

209 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


But before the boys could fire, the musk oxen had 
scented them. Forgetting the dogs in their greater 
fear of human beings, they dashed off in a close- 
packed bunch with the huskies at their heels. Once 
more Unavik and the boys raced after them, and 
once more the dogs brought the animals to bay. 
This time Unavik led the way behind bowlders and 
snowdrifts down the wind. All unsuspected by the 
wild cattle, the three approached within easy range 
and picking out two of the biggest bulls, the boys 
fired. 

At the double report the musk oxen again dashed 
off and, confused by the dogs, they came galloping, 
plunging, directly towards the three hunters. Before 
the astonished boys realized what had occurred, the 
great shaggy beasts were upon them. There was no 
time to reload and fire, no time to rise and run. 
Like an avalanche the stampeded creatures bore 
down upon the frightened boys. With lowered 
heads, rolling eyes, steaming nostrils and swinging 
horns they came. With terrified yells the boys threw 
themselves to one side, rolled among the rocks, and 
buried their heads, faces down, in the snow. All 
about them pounded the galloping hoofs. Tom 
screamed as he was struck a terrific blow and hurled 
aside. Over them they heard the panting breaths, 

210 


AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


the loud snorts and the low bellows of the creatures. 
Each second they expected to feel the sharp hooked 
horns ripping through their garments and their 
flesh. 

But in an instant it was over. The musk oxen 
had passed; the boys were unhurt, and slowly, and 
with wondering expressions, they cautiously raised 
themselves as the pack of dogs raced by. 

‘‘Jiminy crickets!” exclaimed Jim, ‘T thought we 
were goners that time” 

“Gosh, yes!” assented Tom. “One of ’em stepped 
on me, but I guess these furs saved me. Say, 
what’s the matter with us? We didn’t kill a single 
one.” 

“Search me,” replied Jim, “I don’t see how we 
missed.” 

“Me say hitum, sure Mike!” cried Unavik who 
was searching the trampled snow where the beasts 
had passed. 

The boys hurried to his side and glancing down, 
saw big splashes of crimson on the snow. Evidently 
they had not missed. Racing after the Eskimo they 
hurried as fast as they could travel towards the dis¬ 
tant barking of the dogs. As they leaped the crest 
of a hummock, Unavik uttered a sharp cry, and the 
boys shouted with delight as they saw a big black 

211 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


bull lying half buried in a snow drift where be had 
fallen. 

“We got one anyway!” cried Tom as they hurried 
on. “Say, we are in luck!” 

Once again they found the oxen at bay and, this 
time when they fired, two of the creatures were left 
behind when the herd galloped off. 

“Gee, that’s enough!” declared Jim, as panting 
and utterly exhausted the boys seated themselves on 
one of the dead oxen. “I’m all in. These clothes 
were never made for sprinting.” 

“Get the dogs, Unavik,” said Tom. “No use in 
killing more. We can’t even get these three in to the 
village. We’ll wait here for you.” 

The Eskimo started off, but there was no need 
for him to recall his pack. The musk oxen were 
thoroughly frightened and demoralized and had fled 
over hill and dale into the vast white waste, and 
the dogs, realizing that the creatures could not be 
brought to bay again with the scent of blood 
behind them, came trotting back towards the dead 
oxen. 

It was, as Tom said, impossible to carry the three 
creatures to the village and so, having regained their 
breaths, the two boys and Unavik set to work skin¬ 
ning the two oxen. It was a hard slow job, but at 

212 


AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


last it was done and the boys straightened their ach¬ 
ing backs and eased their cramped muscles. 

“Well, that’s over!” exclaimed Jim. “But how on 
earth can we carry those skins and heads back? 
They weigh pretty near a ton. I’ll bet.” 

Unavik grinned. “Me say plenty easy,” he re¬ 
marked and rolling the skins in a bundle with the 
hair inside he lashed them firmly with the tough 
sinews from the creatures’ legs, attached his dogs 
to the whole and with a sharp command sent the 
huskies galloping over the snow with the bundle of 
skins sliding like a sled behind them. 

“Golly, that’s easy!” cried Tom. “But I’d never 
have thought of it.” 

With the musk ox trail to guide them, the three 
had no difficulty in locating the sledge and having 
harnessed the dogs they drove the team back to the 
first ox they had killed. This Unavik dressed and, 
after a deal of hard work, the body was loaded on 
the sled and the triumphant and elated boys turned 
towards the distant village. It was a long, hard 
tramp, the boys were tired, and except when traveling 
down a steep slope, they could not rest by leaping on 
to the sledge, for the dogs had all they could do to 
haul the vehicle with its load. But the boys did not 
complain. With three musk oxen to their credit 

213 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


they could well afford to undergo some hardship; 
but over and over again they were forced to halt 
and rest. As a result, it was nearly midnight when 
they at last saw the rounded igloos and the ghostly 
outline of the schooner in the flickering light of the 
aurora, and with heartfelt thanks, they reached the 
end of their journey. 

“Where’n tarnation ye been?” demanded Cap’n 
Pern, who was the first to see them. ‘‘I swan, ye’ll 
have us all plumb crazy worryin’ over ye.” 

‘‘You needn’t have worried,” declared Tom, “Una- 
vik was with us.” 

“Shucks, he’s jes’ as bad as ye be,” declared 
the old whaleman. “H’ain’t got no sense ’tall. 
What-” 

“Hello!” cried Captain Edwards, interrupting the 
old whaleman. “You boys are late. Just begin¬ 
ning to think we’d have t’ start out to search for you. 
Have any luck?” 

“Three musk oxen,” replied Jim. “We’re pretty 
near starved.” 

“I’ll bet ye be,” cried Cap’n Pern. “Blow me if 
ye ain’t reg’lar hunters. Fetched in three o’ the 
critters, eh? Waall, I’ll be sunk!” 

As the half-famished boys ate ravenously, they 
told their story of the hunt to the men and officers 

214 



AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


and then, having been unanimously acclaimed the 
champion hunters of the ship, they crawled into their 
bunks, snuggled among their furs, and were instantly 
sound asleep. 

So rapidly had the time passed that the boys 
could scarcely believe that half the winter was over. 
As Tom, on the morning after their musk ox hunt, 
started to write down the events of the preceding day 
in his diary, he uttered a surprised ejaculation. 

“Gosh, Jim, it’s only two weeks till Christmas!” 

“No!” exclaimed Jim. “Gee, I didn’t realize it. 
We’ll have to have a celebration. I wonder what 
they do up here.” 

“Of course we celebrate,” the captain assured 
them when they spoke to him about the holidays. 
“Reckon we’d better be gettin’ ready pretty quick.” 

So for the next ten days every one aboard the 
Narwhal was busy. There was the same delightful 
mystery in the air as at home; preparations for the 
Christmas festivities proceeded rapidly; and the boys 
were amazed to discover what resources the men 
and the schooner possessed. Mike and the carpenter 
worked early and late at building a miniature whal¬ 
ing ship to serve in place of a Christmas tree. The 
grinning black cook labored from morning until 
night—or rather from breakfast until bedtime— 

215 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


baking cakes and pies, making mysterious dishes, 
and boiling great kettles of molasses for candy, and 
from dinner until nearly midnight, the boys and men 
had glorious fun pulling the molasses candy, roasting 
quarts and pecks of peanuts, and popping hundreds 
of ears of com. Half shyly the rough whalemen 
brought out clumsily wrapped packages and placed 
them on the pile of gifts on the chart table. Even 
the Eskimos seemed to catch the spirit of Christmas, 
and grinned and clucked and chuckled as they saw 
the preparations going on, for they had seen Christ¬ 
mas celebrations before and knew what a fine time 
was in store. 

Two days before the great day, the completed 
model of the ship was set up in the deck house, and 
all hands busied themselves stringing the pop com 
in its rigging, hanging the presents to the yards and 
masts, piling candy wrapped in bright-colored paper 
on the decks, and attaching colored candles along 
the bulwarks, up the shrouds, and along the yards. 

“Say,” cried Jim, as the boys surveyed the com¬ 
pleted substitute for a tree with approval. “Every 
one’ll have to hang up his stocking. Look at that 
heap of presents!” 

At first the men demurred, trying to laugh off 
their embarrassment, but the boys insisted, the cap- 

216 


AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


tain seconded them, Mr. Kemp added his pleas, and 
old Pern chuckled. 

’Spec’ I’m a pi’ fool!” he exclaimed. “But I 
rec’on we kin all ’ford to be kids, come Christmas. 
I’m a-goin’ fer to hang my stockin’!” 

Stumping to his cabin, the old whaleman returned 
carrying a huge rabbit skin under-boot. “On’y 
stockin’ I got,” he declared as all burst out laughing. 

“Well, b’gorra, ’tis lucky for ould Santa that yez 
have but wan lig thin!” cried Mike. “Faith an’ wid 
two av thim there’d not be a prisint for the rist av 
us.” 

Now that Cap’n Pern had started the fun, the men 
quickly caught the spirit. Shouts of merriment, 
roars of laughter and good-natured chaffing floated 
over the frozen wastes from the schooner as the whale¬ 
men brought out socks, fur boots and heavy woolen 
stockings, and hung them in a long row along one 
side of the deck house, while the captain and the boys 
hurried back and forth filling them with bundles and 
packages. 

Christmas day dawned clear and cold. Not a 
breath of wind stirred the frost filled air. The ther¬ 
mometer registered 45° below zero and the boys 
noted that the sun rose above the frozen plain of the 
bay at 9.30. Jumping from their bunk, the two boys 

217 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN ^ FROZEN SEAS 


ran hither and thither, wishing a ‘‘Merry Christmas” 
to every one. Presently the men came trooping in 
and seated themselves at the long table loaded with 
the Christmas breakfast. 

The meal over, the Eskimos began to arrive, for 
all had been invited to spend the day aboard the 
schooner. Soon the deck house was packed with the 
grinning men and laughing girls and women all 
decked out in their richest furs and most elaborate 
costumes, every one carrying some bundle of fur or 
skin. 

Then peanuts and pop com were passed around, 
which the Eskimos munched and enjoyed hugely. 
Presently the captain jumped upon a chair and an¬ 
nounced that there would be a dance. Swanson ap¬ 
peared with a much battered concertina, the car¬ 
penter brought out a wheezy fiddle, the ebony-skinned 
cook arrived with a banjo, and, to complete the 
orchestra, Nate produced a mouth organ. 

Whatever the tune was—if tune it could be called 
—the boys never knew, but the men cared not a jot 
and seemed perfectly satisfied. Presently the deck 
was covered with couples, each dancing a different 
step, all laughing and all as happy as a crowd of 
youngsters. Tom and Jim roared with merriment 
as old Cap’n Pern seized a stout Eskimo woman and 

218 


AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


started to waltz with her. Mike took the center of 
the deck and executed a weird hornpipe which 
brought down thunderous applause, and Mr. Kemp, 
with blackened face and with a strip of gaudy calico 
wrapped about his long legs and a gay bandanna on 
his head, pranced up and down in a cakewalk. 

Then the Eskimos had their turn. The skin drums 
throbbed and boomed, a man with a curious tam¬ 
bourinelike instrument, like a thin drum filled with 
pebbles, added to the din, and the natives pranced 
around and around, chanting a weird song, stepping 
high, twisting and turning and moving in intricate 
figures. 

Then came games, followed by boxing matches, 
and the fun waxed fast and furious. Finally there 
was a tug of war, Eskimos against whalemen, and 
when, with wild shouts and yells, the Eskimos had 
pulled their rivals an inch over the chalk line and 
were declared the victors. Captain Edwards an¬ 
nounced that the presents would be given out. 

As he ceased speaking, there was a shout from the 
companionway and every one turned and gaped in 
astonishment, for there, pushing his way through the 
narrow entrance was Santa Claus! Even the boys 
were surprised, for Santa had been kept a profound 
secret. Clad in a suit of brown wolfskin with ermine 

219 . 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

trimming, and with big sealskin boots on his feet, 
the fat little fellow beamed upon all through his 
voluminous white whiskers of bearskin, and entering 
the deck house, tossed down his heavily loaded pack 
and brushed the snow from his sleeves and shoulders. 

At first no one recognized him, but at his first 
words a roar of merriment burst from every one’s 
lips. “Had a everlastin’ tough time a-gettin’ to ye, 
clean up here!” he cried, striving ludicrously to 
disguise his voice. “But I reckon I brung presents 
fer aU.” 

“B’ the saints, ’tis the fursst toime Oi iver see a 
wan-ligged Santa!” chuckled Mike. “But sure ’tis 
a foine wan he do be afther makin’ at that.” 

Rapidly the presents were distributed. There 
were comfort bags for each member of the crew, 
every bag containing buttons, thread, wax, combs 
salve, thimbles, pins and a small mirror. Every 
Eskimo woman received a bundle of bright-colored 
cloth and a little package of beads. The girls were 
given bead necklaces and gold plated rings. Each 
native boy got a shiny new jackknife, and every Es¬ 
kimo man received a file and a plug of tobacco. 
Then the presents piled around the ship were dis¬ 
tributed, and finally the men, sheepishly and flush¬ 
ing like children, received their well filled stockings 

220 


AN ARCTIC CHRISTMAS 


and giggled and snickered like schoolgirls as they 
unwrapped the packages. 

The Eskimos had done their part also. The men 
and boys were fairly loaded down with moccasins, 
fur boots, carved ivory curios, selected skins and 
similar things, while the natives were mad with de¬ 
light over the powder and lead, the matches, the 
hatchets and knives, and the brass and iron they re¬ 
ceived. 

Then came dinner, and such a dinner! There 
was a roast haxmch of reindeer, bear chops, musk ox 
steaks, roast ptarmigan and potted hare. Even the 
cranberry sauce was there, with mince and pumpkin 
pies, and to cap the climax, a great steaming plum 
pudding which the grinning cook brought trium¬ 
phantly in with its brandy sauce ablaze. 

And the Eskimos at their table also had a feast. 
The dainties so appreciated by the white men held 
no attractions for the natives, and so their feast con¬ 
sisted of canned fruits, thick tinned milk, and, to 
their minds best of all, vast quantities of lard and 
oleomargarine. Not until midnight did the celebra¬ 
tion end. When the last Eskimo had departed and 
eight bells pealed through the night, all vowed that 
this Qiristmas in the Arctic was the jolliest one they 
had ever known. 


CHAPTER XV 


FRIENDS IN NEED 

O NE morning Tom came on deck, glanced 
ashore and rubbed his eyes. He could 
hardly believe what he saw. Beyond the 
igloos, several of the Eskimos were busily putting 
up a skin tent on the shore. 

“Golly, Jim!” he cried to his cousin. “Look, 
there—they must know that spring’s coming. 
They’re putting up their skin tents.” 

“Cricky, so they are!” exclaimed Jim. “Say, I 
didn’t know spring came so early.” 

“Won’t be here for some spell yet,” laughed Mr. 
Kemp who had overheard the boys. “You’re rush¬ 
ing the season. Getting tired of winter?” 

“Not a bit of it,” declared Tom. “We’re having 
a bully* time and I wouldn’t mind being frozen in 
here for six months more. But if spring’s not near, 
why are they moving ashore and putting up the skin 
tents?” 


222 


FRIENDS IN NEED 

‘‘Going to mend some clothes,” replied the second 
officer. 

“Oh, say, you must think we’re easy,” laughed 
Jim. “They could mend clothes in the igloos, 
couldn’t they? What’s the joke?” 

“No joke,” Mr. Kemp assured him. “And of 
course they could mend clothes in the igloos—only 
they don’t think so. That is, some kinds. You see, 
these Eskimos believe there’s a water god and a land 
god—sorta spirit I reckon—and each one’s boss of 
the critters where he reigns. So they think if they 
mend clothes made of sea critters’ skins on shore, 
the water spirit’ll be peeved, and if they mend things 
made of land animals’ hides on the ice, t’other god’ll 
he vexed. I’ll bet, if you was over to that tent, 
you’d find the old lady sewin’ at a shirt or somethin’ 
made of bear or reindeer or fox, or some other 
land thing’s hide.” 

“Well, that is the funniest thing yet,” declared 
Tom. “Come on, Jim, let’s go and see.” 

They found that it was exactly as Mr. Kemp had 
said. Inside the tent, two of the Eskimo women were 
busily mending some garments which the boys at 
once saw were made of wolf and deer skins. This 
discovery aroused their interest and all of their spare 

time was spent questioning the Eskimos about be- 

223 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


liefs and habits. The two boys learned a great 
number of most interesting things. All of these they 
recorded in their notebooks, and once, as Tom was 
busily writing down a folklore story, Newilic, who 
had been watching him, asked what he was doing. 
Tom explained as best he could and the Eskimo 
grinned. Then, asking Tom to let him take the 
book, the Iwilic ^ grasped the pencil in his fist, 
screwed up his mouth, bent his eyes close to the 
paper, and commenced to draw several pictures. 
Presently he handed the book back to Tom and as the 
boys saw what the Eskimo had drawn they roared 
with laughter. There, unmistakable and indescrib¬ 
ably quaint and funny, were the birds and animals 
of the story with a stiff-jointed, woodeny Eskimo 
among them. 

From that time on the boys had Newilic illustrate 
all the stories they recorded, and the result was a 
collection of the most fascinating pictures they had 
ever seen. Both boys declared they would have them 
bound and the stories printed with them as soon as 
they reached home. 

Of course the two boys never lost their interest in 
hunting and one day, when out for meat for the 
schooner’s table, Jim killed an Arctic hare, and pick- 

^ The tribe of Eskimos inhabiting the vicinity of Rowe’s Welcome, 

224 


FRIENDS IN NEED 

ing him up, was amazed to see that he was speckled 
with brown. 

“Hurrah!” he shouted to Tom. “Now I know 
spring’s coming. The hares are getting brown.” 

“Perhaps Amook forgot to rub his hands all over 
him,” laughed Tom. “You know one swallow doesn’t 
make a summer, and I don’t believe one hare with 
brown spots makes a spring. Let’s get another one 
and see if he’s the same way.” 

But oddly enough, now that the boys wanted a hare, 
there were none to be found. Finally, tiring of 
searching for them, the two turned back. As they 
crossed a little swale, a pair of ptarmigan fluttered 
up and Tom bagged them. 

“Gosh, I guess you’re right,” he cried as he picked 
up the birds. “These fellows have got brown feath¬ 
ers on them.” 

“Yep, ain’t no doubt of it,” declared Cap’n Pern 
when the boys returned to the schooner and showed 
the brown feathers and hairs to the old whaleman. 
“Can’t fool these here critters, by gum! I’ll bet ye, 
ye’ll see the geese a-honkin’ back afore long.” 

Despite the fact that the hare and the ptarmigan, 
as well as many other creatures the boys brought 
in, were all assuming their summer coats of gray and 
brown, there was no let up in the biting wind. Snow 

225 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


storms came and piled the drifts higher, and the 
thermometer hovered around the thirty or forty mark 
below zero. 

Then one day the boys came on deck to find a soft 
wind blowing from the south, water was dripping 
from the icicles on the Narwhal’s rigging, the sky 
was clear and blue, and there was an unmistakable 
feel of spring in the air. Day after day the south 
wind blew, and the sky was cloudless and though 
the nights were cold, the ice and snow thawed rapidly 
during the short days. One morning a faint, far¬ 
away sound caused the boys to look up, and they 
saw a little V-shaped string of black specks winging 
swiftly across the sky. 

“There are the geese!” cried Tom. “I guess 
spring really is here.” 

Evidently the Eskimos were of the same mind, 
for they were all busy, erecting skin tents and mov¬ 
ing their household belongings from the igloos to 
their new homes. Before long the low, rounded 
houses of ice were deserted. 

“Looks like the ice might break up pretty soon,” 
remarked Captain Edwards. “That is, if this 
weather holds. What do you think. Pern?” 

The old whaleman squinted at the sky, sniffed the 
wind and scratched his head. “I reckon ’twill,” he 

226 


FRIENDS IN NEED 


replied at last. ‘‘But I’ll be sunk if I hanker arter 
a early thaw. Mos’ gin’rally there’s a’ all-fired, 
dod-gasted freeze arterwards an’ the ice buckles an’ 
raises Sam Hill. I’ve seen many a good ship stove 
an’ sent to Davy Jones by a freeze arter the ice breaks. 
No, sir, gimme a late spring an’ no danger of it 
a-freezin’ solid arterwards.’ 

“Hmm,” muttered the skipper. “Yep, I know 
that. Pern, but if the ice breaks we’ll clear it away 
about the schooner and then she’d ought to stand it. 
Clear water’ll freeze smooth black ice and won’t do 
any harm.” 

“Mebbe ye will, an’ mebbe ye won’t,” grumbled 
the old man. “Course I ain’t a-lookin’ fer trouble 
but I’ll bet ye we git it.” 

A few days after this conversation the boys were 
wakened by a report like a cannon and started up. 
“What’s that?” cried Tom. 

“Ice breakin’ up,” called back Mr. Kemp from the 
next berth. “Reckon she’ll be a-goin’ good by to¬ 
morrow.” 

Throughout the rest of the night the crackling re¬ 
ports, dull crashes and sharp detonations woke the 
boys a score of times, and when they reached the deck 
the next morning, they gazed with amazement at the 
vast plain of white that marked the bay. Where 

227 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


yesterday it had been solid ice—rough, hummocky 
and rugged—it was now broken, and cracked in every 
direction. Narrow strips of dark water could be 
seen here and there, and the mass rose and fell in 
undulations like the swell of the ocean. 

“Hurrah! it’s broken!” cried Tom. “Now we’ll 
soon be getting away.” 

It did indeed look as though the bay would soon 
be cleared of ice, for the tide or current and the wind 
were slowly but surely moving the ice away from the 
land. Already a stretch of fifty feet of water sep¬ 
arated the igloos from the shore, and along the beach 
tiny waves were lapping at the shingle. For the first 
time in many months, the boys felt the schooner 
gently rising and falling beneath their feet. But Tom 
and Jim did not know the treacherous Arctic weather. 
Two nights later they were aroused by shouts and 
cries, the sound of hurrying feet, and crashing shiver¬ 
ing blows that shook the schooner from stem to 
stern. At first they thought the Narwhal had gone 
adrift and was on the rocks. Hurrying into their gar¬ 
ments they rushed on deck to gaze upon a terrific, 
wild and magnificent sight. The wind had shifted 
and was blowing half a gale from the east and the 
broken ice, that had been drifting out of the bay for 
the past three days, was now being driven back. 

228 



FRIENDS IN NEED 


Tossing on the waves, the great masses of gleaming 
ice came in, grinding together, crashing like thunder 
as one collided with another, bumping and roaring 
as they lifted and fell upon the seas. In a vast solid 
rampart, the upended jagged cakes were approach¬ 
ing the Narwhal, and already she was surrounded by 
scores of the cakes—huge, sharp-edged bits of floe 
twenty feet or more in thickness, and hurled like bat¬ 
tering rams by wind and waves. 

Instantly, the boys realized the peril the schooner 
was in. Each time a great cake was flung against 
the stout ice sheathing of her hull, the Narwhal 
shivered and trembled. It seemed impossible 
that any vessel could withstand the steady buffeting, 
the constant impacts, of the tossing cakes. 

Shouting, and yelling, the men and the Eskimos 
labored, striving to ward off the ice with poles, by 
lowering great rope fenders over the sides, and by 
paying out cable, but their puny efforts made no im¬ 
pression on the irresistible oncoming ice. Pres¬ 
ently, however, the boys noticed that there were fewer 
shocks, that the blows seemed less severe and then 
they saw the reason. The first cakes of ice had 
reached the shore, others had piled upon them, 
back of these the oncoming ice was checked and, un¬ 
able to move farther, the countless thousands of heav- 

229 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


ing, crashing, grinding cakes were jammed together 
and the schooner was locked fast in their embrace. 

‘‘Gosh! that was a narrow escape!” cried Jim. “But 
I guess we’re all right now.” 

“All right!” burst out Mr. Kemp. “Here’s where 
we’re a-goin’ to get it good an’ plenty. If the Nar¬ 
whal ain’t stove it’ll be nothin’ short of a miracle.” 

For a moment the boys could not see where the 
danger lurked and every one was too busy to answer 
the questions they longed to ask. But presently they 
understood. The gale, the heavy seas outside the 
bay and the tide were all pushing with terrific force 
against that vast mass of millions of tons of ice, and 
the schooner was gripped within it as in the jaws of a 
titanic vise. Only her hull of oak and pine, a mere 
egg shell in that stupendous field of ice, lay be¬ 
tween the cakes, and no fabric built by human hands 
could withstand that awful pressure. 

With sickening creaks the timbers and planks be¬ 
gan to give. With horrified eyes the boys saw the 
stout sides and bulwarks bending and buckling in¬ 
wards. The heavy oak rail parted, splintered and 
ripped like a match stick. With a report like a gun¬ 
shot the decks sprang into the air and rose in a steep 
hill-like ridge above the shattered bulwarks. 

“Gosh, Jim, it’s all over with the old Narwhal!’^ 

230 


FRIENDS IN NEED 


cried Tom, scarcely able to realize that the stout old 
schooner had met her fate at last. “Now what will 
we do?” 

Even as he spoke the boys were thrown headlong 
on to the ripped deck and with a terrific lurch the 
schooner’s stem reared high in air. She careened 
terribly, and a moment later was lying almost on her 
beam ends on the top of the floe which had forced 
its way beneath her keel. Captain Edwards, old 
Pern and Mr. Kemp were shouting and yelling orders 
while the Eskimos who had seen their plight from the 
shore came hurrying over the ice to help. Soon 
every one was laboring like mad, unloading the car¬ 
go, getting out stores and supplies and preparing to 
desert the schooner, for all knew, that should the 
wind shift and the ice go out, the Narwhal would 
plunge to the bottom like a lump of lead. 

Rapidly the casks of oil, the bales of whalebone, 
the bundles of skins, and the sacks of walrus ivory 
were lowered over the schooner’s sides. In a con¬ 
stant stream the Eskimos’ sledges went back and 
forth between the stove schooner and the shore, carry¬ 
ing the salvaged goods which were piled in a great 
mound well back from the beach. 

At last everything movable had been saved. The 
spars and sails, the chains and cables, the blocks and 

231 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


tackle and the running rigging were stripped from 
the Narwhal and with lumber hastily tom from the 
long deck house a shed was built over the pile of 
valuables and supplies. 

‘‘Gee, we’re marooned here now,” cried Jim when 
the last sledge had come from the schooner and her 
sorrowing crew had tramped over the hummocky 
ice and stood gazing at the pitiful-looking ship which 
had served them so well. 

“Reckon we won’t have to stay here long,” said 
Captain Edwards. “The Ruby’s up to Nepic Inlet 
and, if we can make her, we’ll be all right.” 

“The Ruby?” queried Tom. “What’s she?” 

“Little brigantine out o’ Nova Scotia,” replied 
the skipper. “Bluenose sealer. Guess her skip¬ 
per’ll be willin’ to come in here an’ pick up this stuff 
of oum an’ give us a lift to port.” 

“But how can we get to her?” asked Jim. 

“Sleds,” replied the captain. “ ’Tain’t over a hun¬ 
dred miles by land to the inlet an’ we can make it 
all right. Snow’s still good enough for sled- 
din’.” 

Since another warm spell and a thaw might arrive 
at any moment, and make it impossible to travel 
over the slushy snow, no time was to be lost. Within 
two hours from the time the crew had come ashore, 

232 


FRIENDS IN NEED 


all were on their way across the snow-covered land 
toward Nepic Inlet and the Ruby, 

Leading the party was Amaluk, with his sledge 
laden with necessities, the men’s personal belongings, 
food, and supplies. Behind him came team after 
team and the schooner’s men and officers. In the 
rear were the two boys with their own dog team, 
their sledge laden with their trophies, and with 
Unavik a few paces ahead of them. 

Although the snow had been softened by the warm 
spell, the change in wind and temperature had frozen 
a hard crust upon it, and sledding was easy and rapid. 
But the heavily loaded sledges broke through here and 
there and the boys, bringing up the rear, found that 
they could travel far easier by swinging to one 
side on to the imbroken crust. Often, for several 
miles, they were out of sight of the others, for they 
made detours around hills and deep drifts and once 
or twice stopped to shoot game. They had no fear of 
going astray for the shrill shouts of the Eskimos, the 
cracking of whips, and the yelps of the dogs were 
borne plainly to them on the strong easterly 
wind. 

They had traveled in this way for several hours 
when Tom, who was running ahead, halted and sig¬ 
naled the dogs to stop. “Look here, Jim,” he cried, 

233 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


‘‘there are reindeer near. See, here’s where they’ve 
been scraping away the snow and feeding.” 

“Golly, that’s so,” assented Jim as he saw the bits 
of moss on the white surface and the bare spots where 
the animals had pawed away the snow from a deep 
bed of moss. 

“Let’s go after them!” suggested Tom. “They 
may be near, and Captain Edwards said to get meat 
if we could, to help out the provisions.” 

“Better not,” cautioned Jim. “You know he told 
us not to go off alone.” 

“But that was different,” argued Tom. “He meant 
not to go off on long trips. There’s no danger in 
this. We can’t get lost. It’ll be dead easy to find 
the others’ trail, or follow our own back. See, it’s 
plain as can be.” 

“No, I guess there’s no danger of that,” admitted 
Jim. “All right, come on, but if we don’t find the 
deer soon, we’ll have to come back.” 

Urging their dogs forward, the boys followed the 
deer’s trail and presently, by the dogs’ yelps and 
growls and the way they strained at their traces, the 
boys knew they were on a fresh scent, and that the 
deer could not be far away. The trail led up a nar¬ 
row circuitous valley, and as the marks of the rein¬ 
deer’s hoofs became more and more distinct, and the 

234 


FRIENDS IN NEED 


bits of moss where the animals had stopped to feed 
were fresher, the boys knew they were nearing the 
herd, and halted their dogs. 

“Let’s look over that ridge before we go farther,” 
suggested Tom. “They may be in the next hol¬ 
low.” 

Crawling up the low ridge, the boys peered over 
and to their joy saw a dozen reindeer lying down and 
resting. Hurrying to the dogs, the boys unharnessed 
them, looped the neck thongs together and led the 
pack to near the summit of the hill. Then, un¬ 
leashing them, they let them go. With loud barks 
and growls the dogs rushed down at the surprised 
deer. 

Leaping to their feet the reindeer, as always, 
formed a defensive ring, and while they were busy 
keeping off the snapping dogs, the boys slipped 
around the hill to get within easy range. So intent 
were the deer upon their four-footed enemies that the 
boys crept within fifty yards and brought down two 
of the creatures. It was almost as simple and as 
little sport as killing domestic cattle but the boys were 
out after meat and not for sport and, having all they 
needed, they ran towards the herd, yelling and shout¬ 
ing. 

Instantly the survivors turned and fled, and the 

235 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


dogs, after chasing them a short distance, came lop¬ 
ing hack to the dead deer. 

“We can’t carry both these, as they are,” said 
Tom. “And we can’t afford to waste them. Let’^ 
dress them and leave the heads and horns. We have 
better ones than these and the meat’s what we want 
most.” 

“Guess we’ll have to,” agreed Jim, and at once the 
two set to work. 

Although the boys had assisted Unavik and the 
other Eskimos in dressing deer and musk oxen, they 
had never before tried it alone and they soon found 
that it was a hard and difficult undertaking. The 
deer were heavy, the boys were no expert butchers 
and the time passed more rapidly than they imagined. 

As they finished the first deer and with grunts of 
satisfaction stood up and looked about, they noticed 
for the first time that the sky was overcast, that heavy 
dun-gray clouds were scudding low overhead, and 
that the wind had increased. 

“Gee, I guess it’s going to storm!” exclaimed Jim. 
“Don’t you think we’d better leave the other deer?” 

“Why?” asked Tom. “If it does storm, it won’t 
make any difference. We’re not two miles from the 
trail, and we can make it in a few minutes. Come 
on, let’s get busy on this other fellow. If it storms 

236 


FRIENDS IN NEED 


it will be all the easier to catch up with the other 
sledges. They’re slower than we are and may have 
to stop.” 

Once more the boys bent over the deer, cutting and 
dressing the big carcass, and they had almost finished 
when a few big snowflakes dropped upon the animal’s 
hide. 

‘‘Golly, it’s snowing!” exclaimed Jim. “Say, we’ve 
got to hurry!” 

The snow was falling thick and fast by the time the 
deer was dressed. Bending to the force of the wind, 
the boys called to their dogs and started for the 
sledge. 

And then they realized that they had made a fatal 
blunder. All intent upon dressing the deer they had 
forgotten to knot the dogs’ thongs together, the 
animals had been eating their fill of the offal from 
the deer, and instinctively knowing a storm was ap¬ 
proaching, they were running nervously about, sniff¬ 
ing the air and whining. 

At Tom’s call, two of the dogs, old huskies who had 
been long trained to obedience, came trotting to him, 
but the others kept their distance. 

“Come on, we’ll have to get them,” cried Jim, as 
the boys knotted the thongs of the two together. 
“Gosh, we were boobs not to have fastened them!” 

237 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


But as soon as the boys started towards the dogs, 
the animals turned, dashed away with tails between 
their legs and growled savagely. 

“Confound them!” cried Tom, and yelling a com¬ 
mand in Eskimo he made a rush at the nearest dog. 

With a sharp bark, and baring his teeth, the crea¬ 
ture leaped away and then, lifting his head in air, 
he uttered a long wolflike howl and galloped off 
over the hill with the pack at his heels. 

The boys looked at each other with real fear upon 
their features. 

“They’ve gone!” exclaimed Tom. “Now we are 
in a fix.” 

“We’ll have to leave the deer and the sledge and 
hike it,” declared Jim. “Maybe these two dogs can 
lead us to the trail.” 

It was their one chance and urging the dogs on, 
the boys started back over the trail of their sledge. 
But presently they were again at a loss. The rapidly 
falling snow had now covered the runner marks, the 
dogs seemed confused and ranged back and forth, 
and the boys grew more and more frightened. Then 
one of the dogs gave a glad yelp and with noses to 
the snow they strained at the leading thongs. 

“It’s all right!” shouted Tom. “The dogs have 
picked up the trail!” 


238 


FRIENDS IN NEED 


‘‘Well, they’re going in exactly the opposite direc¬ 
tion I think they should have gone,” declared Jim. 
“But I suppose they know.” 

Over low hills and through valleys the dogs led the 
boys while the blizzard raged. To the frightened 
and nervous lads it seemed as if they had covered 
twice the distance they had come when the dogs 
barked loudly, sniffed the air and tugged harder than 
ever at the leash. 

“Guess the others are near now!” panted Tom, 
striving to keep pace with the dogs. “They smell 
something.” 

The next instant the dogs cringed back, the hair 
rose upon their necks and with tails drawn in they 
whimpered as if in fear. 

“Gosh, I wonder what’s up now!” exclaimed Tom. 

“Maybe a bear or wolf ahead,” suggested Jim, 
cocking his rifle. 

Anxiously the boys peered into the misty white 
ahead and saw a low, irregular mound of snow with a 
dark object projecting from it. 

“Say, what’s that ahead?” queried Jim in low 
tones. 

“Looks like a sled covered with snow,” replied 
Tom. “We’ll soon see.” 

Approaching cautiously, while the dogs struggled 

239 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


to keep back, the boys neared the little white mound, 
and the next instant Jim uttered a piercing, fright¬ 
ened cry and leaped back. Sticking stiffly up from 
the snow was a human arm! 

“Gee, it’s a man!” exclaimed Tom. “What are 
you afraid of? Maybe he’s got lost or injured and 
is not dead yet. Come on, let’s see.” 

With fast beating hearts the boys, overcoming their 
fears and nervousness, stepped close to the ominous 
pile of snow. Tom grasped the outstretched fur- 
clad arm. 

But the next instant he let go, yelled, and jumped 
away with a white face. The arm was frozen stiff. 
It was the arm of a corpse! 

“He—he’s dead!” stammered Tom. 

Jim had now recovered himself. “Well, he won’t 
hurt us if he is,” he reminded Tom. “It’s awful I 
know, but we must find out who he is. It may be one 
of our men.” 

“Ugh, I hate to go near it!” declared Tom. 

“So do I, but we’ve got to,” said Jim. “Come on, 
Tom, we’re no babies or silly nervous girls. Brace 
up. 

Striving to control their nervous fears, the boys 
grasped the furs encasing that gruesome stiff arm and 
tugged. Presently, with a horrible, terrifying 

240 


mo- 



FRIENDS IN NEED 


tion, the arm moved, the snow broke loose and the 
boys involuntarily screamed and jumped away as the 
body rolled over free from snow. 

With wide eyes the two gazed upon the corpse 
and backed still farther off. The body, clad in furs, 
was that of a short, heavily built man, but the face, 
swarthy, black-bearded and black-browed, was fright¬ 
ful with the expression of fear and awful agony 
stamped upon it. At the first glance the boys 
saw with inexpressible horror that the whole side 
of the skull was crushed in and the scalp ripped 
off. 

‘‘Wha—wha—what killed him, I wo—wonder!” 
stammered Tom, his teeth chattering. 

Jim, summoning all his courage, took a step nearer. 
‘‘A bear!” he exclaimed, as he caught sight of a row 
of great gashes in the man’s neck and the ripped and 
torn back of the fur coat. 

“Well, le—let’s get away from here,” stuttered 
Tom. “We ca—can’t do anything.” 

Without replying Jim turned and with boyish ter¬ 
ror of death gripping their hearts, and all their cour¬ 
age flown,.the two raced away from the body. 

Not until they had topped the next rise did they 
stop. Then, as they halted to regain their breaths, 
they noticed that the snow had almost ceased, the 

241 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

wind had gone down and they could see for a long 
distance across the white landscape. 

A moment later Tom gave a glad cry. “Look Jim! 
Look!” he yelled. “We’re all right! see, over on 
that second hill! There’s some of the men!” 

“Hurrah! you’re right!” yelled Tom as he too 
caught sight of two sledges just topping a distant 
ridge. “Gome on!” 

Yelling and shouting, the boys raced forward as 
fast as the newly fallen snow would permit. As they 
gained the summit of the second hill, they waved 
their arms wildly. But they were already seen. 
The dogs wheeled, the sleds swung around, and with 
the two drivers riding the runners, they came racing 
towards the boys. 

As they came near Tom and Jim looked at each 
other in surprise. The dogs, they knew, were not 
the Eskimos’. One team was made up of huge black 
and white Newfoundlands, the other of shaggy-haired, 
magnificent, cream-colored huskies. At the boys’ 
first glance they were sure the men were utter stran¬ 
gers. 

“Hello!” cried the foremost man as his sledge, 
drawn by the Newfoundlands, came to a halt close to 
the boys. “What you kids doing out here?” 

“We got separated from our party and lost,” ex- 

242 


FRIENDS IN NEED 


plained Tom. ‘^Our dogs broke away and cleared 
out. You’re from the Ruby aren’t you?” 

That any other white men should be here had never 
occurred to the boys, and yet the men did not look 
like whalemen or sailors. One was clad in a gay 
Mackinaw, the other in furs; both were large, power¬ 
fully built fellows and both had an alert, erect, pecul¬ 
iar bearing that was very different from any whale¬ 
men the boys had even seen. The man in the 
Mackinaw was lean-jawed, with keen gray eyes and 
wore a close-cropped mustache, while the other was 
smooth-faced. Although both were as red as In¬ 
dians from wind and weather and had a week’s stub¬ 
ble of beard upon their faces, they wore an inde¬ 
finable stamp of authority about them. 

The boys remembered that Captain Edwards had 
said the Ruby was a Nova Scotia ship, and as they 
had never seen Nova Scotia seamen, they thought the 
men before them might be the officers of the brig¬ 
antine. 

But at Tom’s words the man with the mustache 
laughed pleasantly. 

“Well, hardly!” he replied. “I’ve been taken for 
most everything, but never for a sealer before. No, 
we’re just ordinary Northwest Police. I’m Sergeant 
Manley and this chap”—^jerking his head towards his 

243 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


comrade—“is Private Campbell. We’re from Fort 
Churchill. Been mushing it for two weeks. Look¬ 
ing for the darkest-dyed rascal that ever disgraced 
the Dominion. Fellow named Pierre Jacquet— 
Chippewa half-breed. Wanted for murder and with 
a thousand dollars reward for him, dead or alive. 
Haven’t seen anything of him, have you?” 

Tom shook his head. “No,” he replied. “But 
say. Sergeant, we found a dead man back there. He’d 
been killed by a bear or something. He was awful! 
His head smashed in and torn to pieces! Gee, it 
makes me feel sick to think of him.” 

“Dead man!” snapped the Sergeant. “What did 
he look like?” 

“He was short and stout with a black beard and 
bushy, black eyebrows,” replied Tom, “and had on a 
suit of harp seal trimmed with blue fox.” 

The Sergeant whistled. “Boys,” he cried, slap¬ 
ping Tom on the backi “You’re lucky kids! Not 
many can get lost and make a thousand dollars by 
doing it!” 

“Why, what do you mean?” asked Tom puzzled. 

“Mean!” cried Sergeant Manley. “Why, that 
dead man’s Jacquet. You’ve won a thousand dollars 
by finding him. Come on, lead us to him.” 

Now that the snow had ceased to fall it was easy 

244 



FRIENDS IN NEED 


to retrace their footsteps, and in a few minutes the 
party was once more approaching the dead man. 

“It’s Pierre all right!” declared the Sergeant, as 
he glanced at the dead man. 

“Aye, there’s nae doot o’ it,” agreed Campbell. 
“Mon, but ’tis a fit endin’ he met.” 

“Can’t take him back to the Fort,” commented the 
Sergeant, half to himself. “Can’t bury him. Guess 
we’ll have to leave him. Campbell, search his clothes 
for anything that will identify him.” 

Rapidly the private went through the pockets of 
the dead outlaw, turning the body over as noncha¬ 
lantly as though it were a log, and presently he 
straightened up. 

“Aye, here’s his dirk an’ a wee bit o’ siller,” he 
announced as he handed the Sergeant a long-bladed 
hunting knife reddened with blood and a buckskin 
hag of money. 

“Must have shot at the bear and wounded him, and 
had a hand-to-hand fight,” remarked Manley. “Used 
his knife evidently, but the bear got in the finishing 
blow. Hmm, there must be papers or jewelry or a 
watch or something on him.” 

Stooping, the Sergeant again examined the body, 
stripping aside the furs, and presently rose with a 
satisfied grunt. “Guess this is all we need,” he said 

245 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


as he showed a heavy, old-fashioned silver watch, a 
bundle of letters and small book. “Nothing more to 
do here,” he continued. “WeTl see you to the Ruby 
now.” 

“But we can’t leave our sledge,” objected Tom. 
“It’s got all our things on it.” 

Sergeant Manley stroked his mustache and bit his 
lip as he hesitated. “All right,” he assented at last. 
“Guess we can find it. You saved us a lot of hard 
work by finding Jacquet, so we can afford to do our 
bit.” 

With keen, trained eyes the officers followed the 
boys’ trail, half hidden though it was, and long be¬ 
fore Tom and Jim realized that they were near it, 
private Campbell sighted the abandoned sled covered 
deep with snow. 

“Might as well take your meat, too,” said the Ser¬ 
geant. “These Newfoundlands can manage one deer 
and we can load the other on your sled and hitch 
your two huskies on with Campbell’s dogs to haul 
it.” 

, In a few minutes the deer were lashed to the 
sledges, the boys’ dogs had been harnessed to Camp¬ 
bell’s team, and with the boys riding, the dogs raced 
forwards over the soft fresh snow. 

“Have to give us your address so that reward can 

246 


FRIENDS IN NEED 

be sent you,” said the Sergeant as they dashed down a 
long slope. 

“I don’t want it,” declared Tom. ‘Tt belongs to 
you and private Campbell, doesn’t it, Jim?” 

“Of course,” agreed Jim. “I wouldn’t think of 
taking it. Why, we just stumbled on the body by 
chance and you’d have found it if we hadn’t.” 

“That’s being too generous,” declared the Sergeant. 
“It belongs to you. We might have passed by and 
never found the body.” 

“Well, we want you to have it—even if you call 
it a present—or to show our gratitude for finding 
you and getting saved,” insisted Tom. 

“I can’t thank you—only to say thanks awfully,” 
declared Manley, “and I’ll tell the wife what a couple 
of fine kids you are when I get back to the Fort.” 

“Aye!” shouted the private. “Yon bit o’ siller’ll 
come muckle handy i’ celebratin’ o’ a weddin’ wi’ a 
bonny lass awaitin’ me i’ yon Fort.” 

Then as the boys sped on, they talked with the 
two stalwart guardians of His Majesty’s law in the 
frozen wastes, and told them all about their trip, 
their hunts, and the staving of the Narwhal, and even 
of their former cruise in the Hector, to the Antarctic. 

To all of this Campbell and his Sergeant listened 

attentively, laughing gaily over Cap’n Pern and Mike, 

247 



DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


now and then asking a question, uttering surprised 
ejaculations as the boys told of their adventures, and 
now and again glancing at each other and raising their 
eyebrows as Tom and Jim told of the rich catch of 
furs, hides, and ivory the Narwhal had made. Rap¬ 
idly the time passed. Untiringly the powerful dogs 
raced on, until at last. Sergeant Manley raised his 
fur-mittened hand and pointed ahead. 

‘‘Tinavik Cape,” he said. ‘‘See that conical hill? 
Guess you’ll see your people when you get to the 
ridge there.” 

Down into a deep, wide valley the sledges sped; 
across a broad frozen river, and up the farther slope, 
and gaining the top of the sharp, high ridge the dogs 
came to a standstill, panting and winded. 

“Hurrah! We’re there!” shouted Tom as the 
boys looked down from the hilltop. “There’s the 
brigantine!” 


CHAPTER XVI 


SOUTHWARD HO! 

F or a moment the little group paused on 
the summit of the ridge, and gazed down 
at the inlet with the brig floating amid the 
great cakes of ice. 

‘‘Gosh, we weren’t far off after all!” exclaimed 
Jim. 

Sergeant Manley smiled. “You don’t have to be 
far off to get lost up here,” he said, “and I’m blessin’ 
the day we met you. Best of luck all around. 
Saved you boys, saved us the Lord alone knows how 
many weeks of mushing it, and ended the hunt for 
Jacquet.” 

“Aye, an’ nae forgettin’ the tidy bit o’ siller 
cornin’ to pur pockets,” put in the practical Camp- 
beU. 

“Say, what are they doing on the shore?” cried 
Tom who had been studying the scene intently. 
“Look, they’ve got tents and I can see a lot of the 

men there. Why aren’t they on the brig?” 

249 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


Sergeant Manley whipped out his glasses and fo¬ 
cused them on the shore of the inlet. 

“Something queer!” he exclaimed. “Wonder if 
the Ruby’s stove too. Let’s go.” 

The next moment the powerful Newfoundlands 
were tearing down the slope with the lighter, cream- 
colored Eskimo dogs in the rear, and with the two 
stalwart policemen riding the runners and “yip-yi- 
ing” at the teams. Like the wind the sleds raced 
down the steep hillside, and the two boys bent their 
heads as the cold wind whistled across their faces. 

Out on to the flat they dashed, and leaping off, 
the two officers brought their teams to a sudden halt 
within a dozen yards of the first tent. 

“Wall, I’ll be squeegeed!” cried Cap’n Pern as he 
turned at the sound of the party’s arrival. 

“Where’n-” Then, catching sight of the boys’ 

companions he leaped forward with a hop and a skip. 

“By the etamal. I’m glad to see ye!” he cried. 
“Nor’west perlice, ain’t ye? Where’n Sam Hill’d 
these youngsters pick ye up?” 

“Any trouble?” demanded Sergeant Manley with¬ 
out stopping to reply to the old whaleman’s queries. 

“Trouble!” exploded old Pern. “Mut’ny! Them 
there critters has seized the Ruby an’ won’t let nary 
a man aboard, dod gast their hides!” 

250 



SOUTHWARD HO! 


‘‘Where’s the captain?” snapped out the sergeant 
as he slipped his carbine from its sheath and Camp¬ 
bell did the same. 

“Here he comes,” said Tom. “What started the 
mutiny, Cap’n Pern?” 

“Them there gutter snipes!” replied the old whale¬ 
man. “Said this here was a salvage job an’ 
wouldn’t stir hand nor foot lessen we give ’em half 
the valer o’ the Narwhal’s cargo. I swan, I never 
heered o’ sech a thing. Never knowed a whaleman 
t’ talk o’ salvage. That’s what comes o’ these here 
unions an’ new-fangled idees.” 

“Hello!” cried Captain Edwards, who now joined 
the group with Mike and the other members of the 
Narwhal’s company behind him. “See you’ve 
brought reenforcements, boys. Glad you’re here, offi¬ 
cers.” 

“Understand you’ve a mutiny aboard,” said the 
Sergeant. 

“Not my ship,” replied the captain, “that’s the 
trouble. We could rush ’em but they’ve got their 
skipper an’ mates there and she’s a British ship and 
I don’t know how far we Yankees could go.” 

“Got any guns?” snapped out Manley. 

“ ’Bout a dozen,” Captain Edwards assured him. 

“Plenty!” declared the Sergeant. “Get your best 

251 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


men together, give them the guns, and I’ll take charge. 
Campbell, get the kayaks ready.” 

Throwing off his mackinaw. Sergeant Manley 
strode forward, uttered sharp, crisp orders and with 
twelve of the Narwhal’s crew, including Nate, one- 
eyed Ned, Swanson, and Mr. Kemp, he marched to 
the waiting kayaks, ordering the men to shoot and 
shoot to kill if he gave the word. With ready car¬ 
bine he stepped into a canoe. Behind him came the 
little flotilla. Instantly all was excitement on the 
decks of the brigantine. Men ran here and there. 
One or two leaped into the rigging, and the watch¬ 
ing boys saw the flash of steel, and the glint of gun 
barrels. 

‘‘Golly, they’re going to fight!” exclaimed Jim. 

“B’jabbers thin ’twill be a sorry day for thim!” 
declared Mike. “ ’Tis the King’s constabulary they 
do be afther resistin’, bad cess to thim.” 

But the battle the boys expected never took place. 
No sooner did the mutineers recognize the police 
officers than all ideas of resistance were cast aside. 
Clambering on to the rail a man waved a white 
rag frantically in token of surrender. An instant 
later the kayaks were alongside, and Sergeant Manley 
and Campbell leaped over the bulwarks. 

Cowed, with all the braggadocio gone from them, 

252 


SOUTHWARD HO! 


the Ruby^s crew backed away and stood muttering to¬ 
gether near the foremast. 

‘‘Where’s the captain and mate?” snapped out 
the Sergeant, keeping the men covered with his 
weapon. 

“Aft, in the cabin,” replied one of the men. 

“Search that crowd, Campbell!” ordered the Ser¬ 
geant, “and hold ’em.” 

A minute later he reappeared accompanied by the 
skipper and his chief officer. 

“Those are the ringleaders,” declared the captain, 
pointing to a big, bull-necked, low-browed fellow and 
a weasel-faced, shifty-eyed creature. “They started 
the trouble. Jones there’s the one killed the 
bo’sun.” 

“That’s a lie!” roared the heavy man. “S’help 
me-” 

“Silence!” roared Sergeant Manley. “Here, 
Campbell-” 

With a quick motion, the bull-necked fellow 
whipped out a revolver. There was a sharp report 
and the mutineer plunged forward upon the deck 
and his gun clattered upon the planking. Campbell 
nonchalantly threw out the empty shell and snapped 
another into his carbine. 

Terrified at the death of their leader, the muti- 

253 




DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


neers, already frightened at the realization of their 
position, drew back with blanched faces while the 
rat-faced ringleader fell on his knees and pleaded 
for mercy. 

‘‘Get up!” ordered the Sergeant, and as the fel¬ 
low rose a pair of handcuffs snapped upon his wrists. 

“We’ll take him along with us,” announced Ser¬ 
geant Manley. “Any others you want to lose. Cap¬ 
tain?” 

“I’d jolly well like to lose the whole bally lot,” 
replied the skipper earnestly, “but I can’t. Got 
to handle the ship you know.” 

“Don’t think they’ll give you further trouble,” de- 
cleared the Sergeant. “Have ’em searched. Keep 
’em workin’ an’ carry a gun—each of you. Don’t 
forget you’re on a British ship and labor imions 
don’t go under that flag. You’re boss and let ’em 
know it. Expect those Yankees’ll be glad to lend 
you a hand with this crowd.” 

Presently Captain Edwards and old Pern, with the 
remaining members of the Narwhal’s crew, came 
aboard; the few belongings of the shipwrecked whale¬ 
men were stowed and preparations were made for 
departure. 

“Think I’ll go along with you to Rowe’s Welcome,” 
said Sergeant Manley as the whale boats were low- 

254 



SOUTHWARD HO! 


ered and the repentant crew prepared to tow the Ruby 
out of the worst of the ice. ‘‘Have to report the 
,loss of the Narwhal, and I’d like to see you safe on 
your way, Campbell, take the dogs and go over¬ 
land.” 

Then, as the brigantine moved slowly from the in¬ 
let, bumping her blunt bows into the floating ice and 
grinding between the cakes which went bobbing 
astern, the boys had their first chance to tell the 
story of their adventures. 

“Thank heaven, this cruise is over—or near it!” 
cried Captain Edwards. “Fd be a nervous wreck if 
I had you boys to look after much longer, even if 
you do always come out smilin’ as a clam.” 

“I’ll be b’iled if ye can’t git into more consamed 
scrapes’n a passel o’ monkeys!” declared Cap’n Pern. 
“Fast as ye’re outen one ye’re into a wusser.” 

Mr. Kemp spat reflectively into the sea. “Some 
kids,” he remarked tersely. 

At last the brigantine was clear of the shore ice, 
ahead stretched patches and lanes of open water, 
and under a light wind the Ruby went bumping and 
crashing on her way towards Rowe’s Welcome and 
the stove Narwhal, 

“I suppose you men have a heap of queer ad¬ 
ventures,” remarked Mr. Kemp as Sergeant Manley 

255 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


stopped for a chat. “I was mate with a chap what 
was in the force once, when I was on the destroyer.” 

The Sergeant smiled. “Yes, we get our share,” 
he replied, “but most of ’em pretty much alike— 
runnin’ down renegades and outlaws. If any one 
wants plenty of exercise and out-doors air. I’ll rec¬ 
ommend the force. To-day’s job’s the queerest I 
ever had yet, though. A Northwest policeman’s 
supposed to do most anything that turns up, but 
I’d never have dreamed of bein’ called on to board a 
ship and put down a mutiny.” 

The next day the Ruby worked her way past South¬ 
ampton Island into the Welcome. Eagerly the boys 
peered ahead for the first glimpse of the Narwhal 
and the village of their Eskimo friends. 

“It’s been a fine cruise,” declared Jim, “but it 
makes me feel almost sick to think of leaving the 
old Narwhal here.” 

“Humph!” snorted Cap’n Pern. “Ships has got 
ter go sometimes—same’s folks. Reckon the Wel¬ 
come’s as good a place’s any ter let her ol’ bones rest. 
’Sides, ye won’t lose nothin’, Dixon had her insured 
ter the limit.” 

“That’s not it,” said Tom. “It’s like losing an 
old friend. Why, you know how we’d feel if we 
left you or any of the others up here, Cap’n Pern.” 

256 



SOUTHWARD HO! 


The old whaleman turned his head, blew his nose 
loudly on his red cotton handkerchief and cleared 
his throat. ‘‘Derned if I don’t know jes how ye 
feel,” he replied. ‘‘Hate fer to see a oF ship go 
myself. Wall, there ain’t no help fer it. Everlastin’ 
lucky we salvaged all the cargo.” 

“And luckier yet the Ruby was up here,” added 
Captain Edwards. 

“Seems to me the whole trip’s been lucky—no 
matter what happened,” said Tom. 

“Even with the cat,” laughed Jim. 

“Gosh, where is she?” cried Tom. “I’d forgotten 
all about her and her kittens.” 

“Lef’ her an’ t’others behin’,” said Cap’n Pern. 
“Ye didn’t think we could be a-totin’ a passel o’ 
cats ’long o’ us on that there sledge trip, did ye? 
Jes the same, I reckon I got ter take back what I 
said erbout her. Mebbe times has changed an’ cats 
is lucky now’days, what with injines an’ bumb lances 
an’ perlice a-puttin’ down mut’nies an’ all sech new¬ 
fangled contraptions.” 

“Hurrah, you do admit it!” cried Jim. “If we 
keep on we’ll knock all your superstitions to pieces.” 

But Cap’n Pern had not waited to hear. 

A few minutes later, the Ruby rounded a jutting 
cape and there, before them, was the well-known 

257 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


cove with the Narwhal, forsaken and deserted, loom¬ 
ing above the cakes of ice. 

‘‘Why, why— Gosh! She’s afloat!” cried Tom, 
hardly able to believe his eyes. 

“Holy mackerel, she is!” agreed Mr. Kemp. 

“I’ll be blowed!” exclaimed Captain Edwards. 
“By glory, we may go home in her yet!” 

With wondering eyes the crew of the Narwhal 
gazed upon their schooner, for the ship they had left 
with her deck bulging above the bulwarks from the 
terrific pressure of the ice; the vessel whose stern had 
been raised high in air and that they were positive 
would sink to the bottom of the bay when the ice broke 
up, was now floating on an even keel, low in the 
water to be sure, but apparently sound and unhurt. 

Scarcely had the Ruby s anchor dropped over be¬ 
fore Captain Edwards, Pern, Mr. Kemp, and the boys 
tumbled into a boat and were pulled rapidly to the 
Narwhal. Grasping the main chains, Tom leaped 
on to the deck and as he did so a ball of black fur 
sprang from a coil of rope and with a friendly 
“meow” the ship’s cat rubbed herself against the 
boy’s legs. 

“Hurrah!” he shouted as the others jumped on to 
tlie deck. “It’s all right, here’s the cat!” 

“Waall, I’ll be everlastin’ly swizzled!” cried Cap’n 

258 


SOUTHWARD HO! 


Pern as he looked about. ‘‘The ol’ deck’s dropped 
inter place. I’ll be b’iled if I think there’s a mite 
the matter with her!” 

“Five feet of water in the hold,” announced Mr. 
Kemp who had been sounding the well. 

“Course there is,” replied the captain. “May 
have sprung a leak, but if she did, it’s stopped now. 
If it hadn’t she’d have sunk. Reckon she dove off 
the ice too an’ shipped some down the for’ard hatch. 
Men, what do you say? Shall we take the chance 
and sail in the old Narwhal?” 

“Aye! aye!” responded the men in chorus. “No 
lime juicers for us, long’s the schooner’s a-floatin’.” 

“But how—^how could she be squeezed all to¬ 
gether as she was and be all right now?” asked Tom. 
“Why, her deck was like a hill and her bulwarks 
were bent in.” 

Cap’n Pern chuckled and rubbed his hands to¬ 
gether in glee. “Didn’t I tell ye whaleships was 
built to las’ forever?” he cried. “Bless yer souls! 
what’s a mite o’ squeezin’ to a ol’ hooker like the 
Narwhal. I bet ye she’s a-sailin’ an’ a-crusin’ an’ 
a-gettin’ jammed in the ice arter you an’ me and the 
rest ’re dead an’ gone. Yes, sir, nothin’ like a 
Yankee whaleship!” 

All having agreed that they would sail home in 

259 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 

the Narwhal, the crew were transferred from the 
Ruby, Then Sergeant Manley bade them all good 
luck and a quick voyage, and joining Campbell, who 
had arrived the day previously, he sped swiftly into 
the southwest towards distant Fort Churchill with 
his rat-faced mutineer prisoner. 

With doleful shakes of his head the skipper of 
the Ruby said farewell, muttering something about 
“Yankees taking chances where no sane man would,” 
and hoisting sail, he headed his tubby old craft for 
the open sea. 

Working steadily, toiling for hour after hour, the 
men pumped the water from the Narwhal. They 
labored with light hearts, for steadily they gained and 
when at last the pumps sucked, and the following 
day the sounding rod showed less than a foot of 
water, all knew that the schooner was tight and safe. 
Rapidly the long deck house was dismantled, the big 
foretopmast yard was sent up to the words of a 
rousing chantey, sails were bent on and running rig¬ 
ging rove. Then, like beavers, the men and the Es¬ 
kimos toiled, bringing the casks of oils, the bales of 
whalebone, the great bundles of skins and hides, the 
sacks of ivory, and the countless other valuables, as 
well as stores and supplies, from the shore. 

At last all was done. The last of the cargo was 

260 


SOUTHWARD HO! 


stowed. The standing rigging was taut and well 
tarred. The carpenter had patched the cracked 
rails and bulwarks, and had relaid some 
of the deck planks. The motor had been overhauled 
and tested. The sails hung loosely in their brails 
and the boats were at their davits. All this had taken 
much time to accomplish, and the Arctic spring had 
come swiftly to the land. The hills and valleys 
showed gray and bare. The black rocks loomed 
above the patches of sodden snow. The ice, rotten 
and spongy, bad almost disappeared from the bay. 
The Eskimos’ igloos had long since gone, and the 
natives were living in their skin tents once more. 
Far overhead in the blue sky, the long files of geese 
and swans winged northward; great flocks of eiders 
gathered on the bay; curlew and snipe filled the night 
air with their plaintive whistling, and the snowbirds 
twittered from rocks and last year’s weeds. 

For the last time the boys paddled ashore in their 
kayak and bade farewell to Nepaluka, to Newilic, 
to Kemiplu, the wrinkled old story teller, and to all 
their Eskimo friends whom they had grown to love 
and respect. 

Then the clank of the windlass and the rousing 
chantey of the men warned them it was time to leave, 
and swiftly they paddled to the schooner, gave a 

261 


DEEP SEA HUNTERS IN FROZEN SEAS 


farewell wave of their hands to the crowd of Eskimos 
ashore, and saw their little kayak hoisted to the deck. 

Oh first came the herring, the king o’ the sea, 

Windy weather! Stormy weather! 

He jumped on the poop. “I’ll be capt’n,” says he! 
Blow ye winds westerly, gentle sou’westerly 

Blow ye winds westerly—steady she goes! 

Loudly the chantey rang over the bay. Loudly the 
Eskimos shouted and yelled as the dripping chain 
came in link by link, and the great anchor rose 
from the mud that had held it fast for half a year. 
Up the rigging the men sped. Quickly the huge 
sails were spread and sheeted home. Braces were 
manned, and the Narwhal slowly gathered way and 
the short seas splashed in spray from her forefoot. 
Out towards the vast reaches of the bay she sailed. 
Behind her, the land grew dim and faint. To a 
fair, stiff breeze she heeled, with every sail drawing, 
headed southward. 

Battered by countless storms, scarred by ice, the 
veteran of a thousand battles with hurricanes and 
tempest, with crushing floes and grinding bergs, still 
staunch and sound, the gallant old schooner lifted 
her bow and plunged through the hissing green seas. 

Safe within her old hold were the hard won trea- 

262 


SOUTHWARD HO! 

sures of the Arctic; yard long icicles and masses of 
frozen spray draped her bobstays, her rails, and 
her chains. But shaking the icy brine from her 
decks as she reared on the crests of the waves, slid¬ 
ing into the great hollows, crushing ice cakes with 
her shearing bows, she tore onward, while at braces 
and halyards and sheets the men roared out that most 
welcome and glorious of whaleman’s songs: 

Did you ever join in with those heart-ringing cheers, 
With your face turned to Heaven’s blue dome, 

As laden with riches you purchased so dear 
You hoisted your topsails—bound home? 

( 1 ) 


THE END 


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